Memories and Thoughts about Grandma Koning

My Grandma Koning passed away on Monday, May 14.  One day shy of her 89th birthday.  What a great birthday gift for her though, she got to meet Jesus face to face and celebrate her birthday with  Him.

My Grandma is and always will be loved by all five of her children, their spouses, her 19 grandchildren and their spouses, and her 29 great-grand children.  I have a lot of my cousins as friends on Facebook and it has been neat to see the pictures and words that they have posted about her in the last few days.  We are sad that we don't get to be in her presence anymore but at the same time I am incredibly happy and comforted that she is praising God in heaven and that we will see her again.  I have a peace that passes all understanding about her death.  Thank God!

I wanted to post some of my memories of her here on the blog.

My grandparents lived very close to our elementary and middle school as well as to our church. (Their house is right in the middle).  I am sure I share this memory with many of my cousins, because all of us went to the same school and the majority of us grew up going to the same church.  Our church had a junior choir and practice was on Wednesdays after school.  We would walk from school to church, but we had a little time in between, so we would stop at Grandpa and Grandma's house and Grandma always had special treats for us.  We often took our friends there too on those days and she treated them just like her grandchildren.

I remember hanging out at with my Grandma and her making up her own songs.

One of my greatest memories, is going strawberry picking with her and my dad.  My mom was sick, so she didn't go.  We hit the jackpot and picked so many strawberries, we filled a car trunk basically.  My mom wasn't too happy that we had gotten so many, it meant a lot of cleaning, but this strawberry lover was in heaven. :)  We gave many away to other people.

When it was either my dad's or my mom's birthday week, we would get to have Sunday dinner at my grandparents.  Grandma would always make strawberry jello for me; she knew it was my favorite.

On one hand she knew strawberry jello was my favorite, but she always seemed to forgot I was allergic to nuts.  Almost every cookie she made had nuts and she always offered the red cookie tin to me on Sundays at church coffee.  I almost always had to decline due to the nuts.

I remember playing hours of Rumikub with her as well as helping her with her puzzles.





Unfortunately, we couldn't find a ton of pictures, but I do have two that will hold a special place in my heart.  One of her, me and Kyper as a newborn and one that was just taken a few short weeks ago with Anja as a newborn.  I am so glad she got to hold my two children and that they could experience her love.

Grandma holding Kyper

Grandma holding Anja

I hope and pray that I can live a life like my Grandma Koning.  She has taught me so much about being a wife, mother and grandmother.  I thank God for blessing me with her for a grandma.

Please remember my family, especially my grandpa as we grieve for my Grandma and celebrate her life.

Love you Grandma!  I am thrilled you are with Jesus but will miss your presence on earth.