Such great times we had together.  So many memorable ones it's hard to choose. The one that caused the most laughter was the one that we went to Fairview Heights to Sam's in her two door car.  While there she decided to buy a microwave.  It took 5 times of unloading and reloading to get it in the car with all the other stuff.  We laughed till we cried over that one.

Then the time we were headed to Fairfield to the Farmer's store and were so busy talking we ended up in McLeansboro but made the best of that incident too.

And then of course the time we got lost and ended up on Scott AirForce Base during heightened alert.  We explained our misdirections and they let us go on with the correct directions but not before she made me promise not to tell anyone about it!

We canned green beans together, made pepper relish and of couse every project we started on she always did the sewing and me any ceramics .  We went to Home extension together, went to camp together.

Since we both moved to Florida we talked almost every day on Instant message.  I still find myself looking for her online.

I remember Joe used to say she could go anywhere and stay as long as she wanted as long as he had his egg sandwich.  

Such memories I will cherish forever . 

Not a specific instance, but no matter what age I was, I remember being met every morning with grandma asking me if I wanted eggs, bacon and toast for breakfast. Until I was out of college, I usually accepted! Even then I was told, "you know you still have to eat enough, that (fruit, oatmeal, etc) isn't going to last you long"

We moved from our first house to our current house two days after Christmas in 1987.  Joe and Jackie came out to help us move.  As usual, mom found a job that she could take charge of and did, telling me not to worry about the kitchen, instead I should focus on getting the kids' stuff unpacked and organized.  Twenty seven years later the kitchen is still organized exactly the way she organized it when we moved in.

When I was pregnant with Chris (baby #3), we had been talking with Jackie about coming down after the baby was born to help out.  The plan was to fly her down a day or two after I had the baby.  As usually happens when you have things planned around an impending birth, Chris decided to take his time and the due date came and went.  Jackie frequently checked in with us on the state of affairs.

The week following my due date I went in on a Monday for a visit and my blood pressure was going up and  I had gained a couple more pounds.  The doctor had me schedule a visit for Thursday that same week.  On Thursday, after examining me, he said we would schedule an induction for the following  Monday morning.  I went home and Gary called mom, explaining that we would book a flight for Monday evening or Tuesday morning.

The next afternoon Gary receives a call from his mom that she is at the airport and could he come pick her up!  She decided that she would come down early to help.  In the end, that was the best thing to happen because she allowed me to put my feet up and rest for the weekend, taking care of Gary, Catherine and Craig and the house.

Sunday night we went to bed around 10 PM with everything in place to go in Monday morning to be induced.  Lo and behold, Chris decides to make his grand entrance in the middle of the night.  Gary woke mom (about midnight) to tell her we were off to the hospital and he would call later in the morning.  When he got back home around 5AM mom was up, actually had been up since we left.  She persuaded Gary to go nap while she got Catherine and Craig off to school, getting to pass along the good news to them first and share the hospital pictures.

After a short nap and a quick breakfast she had Gary bring her up to the hospital so she could see her newest grandbaby.  She stayed for the rest of the week, attending to the kids, Gary and the house, giving me time to take care of baby Chris and get some rest!

During another Spring Break Joe and Jackie came down to Houston to visit us.  One of my sister's was on spring break from college at the same time and was visiting with a friend.  Sue had thoughts of quitting school and moving to Houston to work at a new equestrian center that was being built.  This met with eyerolls from me and Gary, but Sue was not to be deterred right then.  Ever patient and ever the pragmatist, Jackie sat with Sue, pencil, paper and calculator nearby, and looked at what it would take for her to financially support herself if she did this.  Needless to say, she quickly got Sue to see the folly of that plan and she did return home to finish school.  An objective viewpoint is always appreciated. 

One spring break Diane and I took the kids to Mt. Vernon.  Joe and Catherine were maybe 3 or 4, Michelle only 1 or 2.  Jackie and I were talking about Easter Bunny things one morning when we were joined by Joe Bob.  So as not to spoil any Easter Bunny surprises Jackie started to spell things as we talked.  The conversation continued like this for a couple of minutes, Joe Bob listening to his grandma quite intently.  When there was a pause in the spelling conversation, Joe Bob held out the items in his hands to his grandma saying "I have a GI Joe!"  Jackie and I busted out laughing!