My Nana is gone...

[Andrea]

Sister Darlene, I'm so sorry to hear you lost your nana. I am not able to be on here like I would enjoy but do try to stop by when I can. I am praying that your nana will be able to be buried.

[benshelpmeet]

Dear Friends,

Thank you for praying. Mama cremated Nana against Nana's and my wishes. Mama called and said she was going to send me Nana's ashes so I could bury them under her Memorial garden that we are making in memory of my precious '' Nana girl ''

Mama has not sent me her remains. She had told me she was going to send them to me because we were so close and she knew she would want to be buried near me. I told her we'd pay to have them sent (to help her out,) I'd even send my sister in law to help, because Mamas health is not good.

I'm afraid she isn't going to send her, it's been almost a month.

Please pray that she sends Nana to me soon. Were buying her Granite head stone this Saturday.

The Lord has been faithful to comfort me and give me peace, I know that I was not for it and it's not on my account. I've done the best I could for my sweet Nana and I have peace with that.

I'm afraid Mama might die and Nana's remains will be lost in the shuffle. My mother has been falling alot lately, last year she had a heart attack and a stroke at the same time, it almost killed her.I worry about her too.

Love, ~ sister Darlene ~

[Elizabeth]

i am still praying!!!! may the lord give you peace... love ya'll

[mjr]

Sister Darlene,

I just read your original post. My heart sank as I read what your Nana went through prior to her passing. I am soooo very sorry for your loss. My prayers will be with you and your family as well as for your mom. Cling on to your loving Heavenly Father. . .

"My flesh and my heart faileth; but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever" Psalm 73:26

~ Mary Jo

[Deleted]

Darlene-
This sounds so hard, I am sorry for your loss (here on earth) and sorry for the pain you are going through with family. I will Pray for you daily and please keep us updated-
Blessings,
Liz

[benshelpmeet]

Yesterday my daughter and I made Nana's Memorial garden area, we are just getting started, I have alot planned to add to it in the spring.

Next to our house we dug into the side of the hill and made a wall out of nice wall bricks and leveled it and measured 6 ft so it will look like a real grave.

Now all I need is Nana's remains. We purchased her grave stone 10-13-10 it will come in about 4 weeks.

Pray Mama sends me Nana soon.....right now shes sitting on top of her TV set. Yuck! Meaning the TV set not my precious Nana. )







I bought this cute stone that is made out of Soap Stone, I like how it says ''Family'', family meant alot to my Nana she was always telling me how important family is. She was a big part of our family. Every time I had a baby we'd take the long trip to go see her and present the new baby to her. She sure did love my children...from afar.





Her stone is 12x24....it is 4 inches tall in the front and 6 inches tall in the back. It's a beautiful grey marble.


Nana's stone will read:

Vedeera Voline
Vann (her maiden name)
Jan. 21 1921
Sept.2 2010

SHE WAS ONE Of A KIND
AND LOVED BY ALL WHO KNEW HER

I CALL TO REMEMBRANCE THE UNFEIGNED FAITH...
WHICH DWELT FIRST IN THY GRANDMOTHER
2 TIM. 1:5

On the top left side there is a book that says '' IN HIS STEPS '' ( that is the book she read when she was 11 years old that drew her to Salvation. On the right side is a single rose (she told me back in 2004 that she wanted a single red rose at her funeral ) When we have her Memorial service I am going to lay one red rose on her grave. She would like that.


Thank you sweet friends for all your prayers and encouragement through all this. It hasn't been easy. First they cremated her then they were just going to leave it at that no earthly memory of her no proper burial nothing. That's just not right.

We have her grave facing East.....the dead in Christ will rise first.

Oh and we planted Giant 16 to 18 inch '' King Alfred'' yellow daffodils along the fence line beside her grave 25 giant bulbs, some were double bulbs, we planted them 6 inches apart.....Daffodils are one of my Nana's favorites! How pretty that will be in the spring...late February.

I got the heart family stone from Big Lot's for 3.00, and the heavy large planter from Lowe's for 15.95, it is about 4 inches taller than it looks...we buried it in the ground a bit so it wouldn't look too big, or possibly get turned over in high winds. The Mums cost 2.50...I know she would love those. I sure do. The Lord has been giving us good ideas and good deals.

Love, ~ sister Darlene ~

[michelle]

That looks very nice.

[benshelpmeet]

Does anyone have a suggestion of a short, plush grass seed I could sew on her grave area, so it will not need to be cut.

Ben is going to encapsulate her remains in 6 inch PVC pipe. That is a great idea.

The Lord is really giving us good ideas.

Yesterday we were going through the mini barn and we found a big family picture from May 1998, it had Ben 35, and me 33, Benjamin 11, Bonnie 6, Amie 4, Emilie 17 mo, Bethany in the womb. And Nana in the middle up front in the middle of us all age 77. What a beautiful picture that was......Good memories. There is a window on the side of our house in the hall way overlooking the grave site. We are going to put that picture on the wall beside the window over looking her grave. We are going to put a few more pictures of her there as well.

I'm beginning to feel really good about all this. My Nana would be pleased with her bodies resting place.

Ben is going to build a 4 ft pressure treated wood bench to put at the foot of her grave. There is a black locust tree hanging over the fence shading the spot where the bench will sit.

I love my Nana.

I'm so glad she is no longer suffering.

[George]

Sister Darlene, I suggest either St. Augustine or Centipede grass. They are both short-bladed and very hardy. They do not like really cold temperatures but in your area frost should not be too much of a problem. Some might suggest Bermuda grass but it has it's problems. It will brown-out in winter. It does not like cold at all much less freezing temperatures. Bermuda is also a pest in a lot of cases. Rather than reproduce from seeds it sends huge runners or roots deep into the ground. I have dug out some that are over four feet long. They also "travel" a great deal and once it is established it is almost impossible to get rid of. It is very short and find-bladed needing little water. When you see a gold course and look at the lush, green grass on the greens it is usually Bermuda. It will grow (with the proper care) to form what looks and feels like a plush rug. Again though it does spread all over the place and at some point will most likely end up in every part of your yard no matter how hard you try to control it.

You might also want to pop into your local garden center to take advantage of their expertise. When I say garden center I refer to an actual nursery and garden center rather than a Wal-Mart, Home Depot or something like that. It is difficult to find such a place that has employees that really know about plants. They are usually there just to be sales clerks or to kill the plants by either over or under watering them.

If you would like I can ask my mother and see what pearls of wisdom she may have. Mom is not only a plant expert she is familiar with that part of the country. My dad's side of the family is all from North Carolina and mom spent a lot of time there.

In Christ,
George

[benshelpmeet]

Thank you Bro George! I was wondering if anyone would give me the advice needed here on a good short grass to grow on Nana's grave. This is not a popular topic. To me it is exciting fixing up a place for Nana's body to wait for the return of Jesus.

Thank you for helping. Please do ask your dear Mama. Is she doing well? I sure hope so.

Love and prayers, ~ sister Darlene ~

[benshelpmeet]

The Lord has answered the prayers of my heart. My mothers boyfriend called up the Thursday (Nov 18th) before Thanksgiving and said Ben's Brother could come pick up Nana's remains and mail them to me, because my Mama is going in for heart surgery.

My brother in law picked her up on Tuesday ( Nov 23 ) two days before Thanksgiving, I got her in the mail (isn't that weird) Monday (Nov 29) 4 days after Thanksgiving.

She is safe on my shelf for now...she is facing east. We have had nasty wet cold weather and we will be having her burial service soon when the weather is nice on the week end.

The Lord has done so much for me through all this. I know Nana would not have wanted to be cremated or treated like this by her family, but I know she would be happy with our efforts in her behalf and I know she is in Heaven and not in pain or suffering any more and I have Peace with it all.

Thank you all for your prayers.

[lisa]

I am happy to hear about the answered prayer. Love and Blessings Lisa