Elaine Mae Knapp

My Grandma Knapp passed away last Thursday morning (12:40 AM), January 3. She was 87 years old, turning 88 at the end of this month. Ben and I are in Michigan at my parents' right now. We had visitation tonight and the funeral service is tomorrow.

Even though I dread visitations, this one was actually pretty refreshing. The circumstance may have been unfortunate, but it was nice to catch up with my cousins, aunts, and see old friends. The best part of it so far is when we sat together as a family after the last visitation tonight, and just shared memories of Grandma...laughing and crying together, but mainly laughing. Grandma always had a sense of humor and I know that she was looking down on us smiling as we shared these memorable moments as a family.

Everyone is at peace about her passing, because she was ill for quite some time. The night she passed away, all three of her surviving children were there with her at the nursing home along with my mom, cousins, and Rachelle. My dad and his two sisters were actually in the room when she died. They said she opened her eyes wide and smiled, then she was gone....just like that. She saw something.... she saw Jesus.

It is very comforting to know Grandma is in a better place and no longer in pain. Funny how death can be so much easier to cope with when you know the deceased person had a relationship with the Lord. We can only be selfish in feeling sad for her death. Instead, we should rejoice that she is with Who we long to be with someday. We'll see you again someday Grandma! We love you!

Phantom of the Opera

Ben bought me tickets for Phantom of the Opera for Christmas. Little did he know when he bought them...the show was playing on New Years Eve! So, we had to cancel our plans to go to the N'skis for a party, and headed to the city instead. We took the train and walked to the theatre from the train station. It was a short distance, but it was cold and snowy. We really just laughed at each other in the end because we literally ran back to the station after the show.

The night was a lot of fun. We didn't go out to dinner before-hand because places were booked and others were really expensive. So we saved our green and ate a sub from Jimmy Johns on the train.

The show was amazing. I have to admit when I saw this show in Nashville I didn't like it very much, so I'm glad I got the chance to see it again. Last time I was bored, this time I was intrigued. Ben loved it too. All of the lead roles were very good, and the inside of the Cadillac Palace Theatre was so beautiful!