Grandma Shaffer

On Monday night we got the call that Grandma probably wouldn't make it through the night. We stopped in to hold her hand and kiss her cheek and tell her that we loved her. The Spirit was so strong in her room and many shared stories about the angels that had been there that day preparing to take Grandma home.

I was asked if I could scan some pictures of Grandma and prepare a slide show. I was happy to help. It took hours to scan the pictures (there was a continual scanner error that required turning off the machine and turning it back on). Wednesday night I was three hours into editing (hooray for the photoshop healing tool!) when we got the call that Grandma had passed. It was a blessing to have spent hours that day looking at her life through pictures. There was so much love in those pictures.

Four hours of work the next morning were spent to put everything into iMovie and burn 30 copies (Thank you Cyndi! You are awesome!). With our limited time we did the best that we could do. I wish I could have cropped some pictures differently, held others longer on the screen, faded the music better. I was sad that it wasn't perfect. These feelings were somewhat abated when my sister Esther watched it and assured me that it had captured the spirit of Grandma perfectly.

Actually, I do believe its creation was divinely led. Mercie had selected 7 songs for the slide show, alternating between Andre Rieu and ABBA (Grandma's favorites), but we couldn't fit all of them. We set in the first song, Que Sera Sera, but the second, Fernando, wouldn't download correctly so we took the next ABBA song on the list, I Believe in Angels. We then tried the third song, Second Waltz, but it seemed too dark. We took that off and just grabbed number seven, Dreaming. The songs ended up fitting the pictures wonderfully and created the perfect feeling. Here are a few of my favorite pictures (I just love the wink at the end).



The slide show ends with a video clip of Grandma and her sister, Laura Jean. When both Aunt Laura Jean and Grandma were young they were beat up and teased for having parents that lived polygamy. They later decided to make up a word with actions to scare off the other kids. Another accounting tells that it was their way of swearing or telling off the kids without using bad words. "Mer-ka-dursh!"

Adam and Kate are sad. Adam didn't want Grandma to die because "she is my best-est old grandma." Kate kept insisting, "But I like the way she looks now." When we asked what she meant she explained that when Grandma is resurrected she will look younger. We assured them both that Grandma is so happy not to be hurting and we will definitely recognize her young spirit when we see her again.

We love you Grandma and we are so happy that you are surrounded by loved ones in heaven!