A Time for Thanksgiving...Part 4 (The Finale)

Well, there's just one grandparent left...Grandpa Simeroth, or Papa as we call him. He was married to my grandma for 50 long, happy years and they made a life together that was full of love for their entire family and Papa's continuing that amazing way of living.


Papa was one of 12 kids born to my great grandparents, G.G. and Great-grandpa Andrew. The Simeroths are a large, loud, extremely close Catholic family and I love them all to death! Papa was also born and raised on a farm in rural Oklahoma. He went on to the Air Force and then to college at Oklahoma State University. He and my grandma moved around a lot with their five kids when he changed jobs, and that's how my mom got here and met my dad. Papa used to run the college farm for Northwest and Dad worked for him when he was in college, then Mom met Dad there. The Simeroths moved again when my mom was in college (it was too cold for them, lol), so Mom stayed here when they moved back to Warner. Papa retired from working on a man's ranch in 2001, but that hasn't stopped him from working and now he works at the Warner schools as the maintenance man/electrician. Honestly, he can't not work or be doing something, that's just the way he is.

Papa, Granny, and the kids

Papa is an amazing, loving, hard-working man. I love to visit him whenever I can and I know that he cares for all of us so much and that he's very proud of me. He is a strong advocate for education and really wants everyone to go to college and believes that somehow everyone should be able to go. That's why he's so proud of me and that I will be the first of his grandchildren to graduate from college. I want to instill that in my kids and just be proud of all their accomplishments and whatever they do. He also has a strong faith and is a wonderful Christian role model. I know some people think differently of Catholics, but Papa is a great Christian example to me and others in our family. He believes that it is because of Christ that we are all saved and given new life and a place for us in heaven. I admired his strength when Granny passed away and I know that part of that strength came from his faith. The Simeroths have never had a lot of money, so they know that just being together is the most important. I learned that from Papa and I truly believe it does not matter if you get each other gifts or any of that, but it's truly being together and loving one another that is the main thing. Papa is also a hard-working man and he shows that work ethic to the whole family and we all get that characteristic from him. Since Papa is now the only grandpa I have and really the only lucid grandparent at all, I cherish my time with him so much more and love him so much. He is a wonderful man and I love spending time with him and learning from him.

A Time for Thanksgiving...Part 3

Okay, I realize that I really should have done all this BEFORE Thanksgiving and not after when it's Christmas season. But oh well, I like to post this on here so I can go back and look at it and remember my amazing grandparents.

So now, I'm going to move on to my grandma, Katie Simeroth. Like the rest of my family, she was a wonderful, hard working, & stubborn (at times) woman!


Granny, as we called her, grew up in Denver, Colorado and was one of nine children in their family. She faced some hardships in her younger life because her father was a very angry man sometimes, and actually we think he may have suffered from bipolar disorder. Her mother died when she was in her young adult years and her dad then remarried, but she dealt with that adjustment very well. She also had to deal with my grandpa being away in the military for training with the Air Force. He came home one weekend before Christmas, they were married and had a two day honeymoon, then they moved to Florida where my grandpa was stationed. They had five kids, including my mom and were married for fifty years in January 2008, a month before she passed away. The picture above is my grandma, grandpa, aunt Genny (the older kid), and my mom (the baby).

As you all know, my grandma passed away on February 21, 2008. I'm sure you all know the story, but again, I'm recording this more for my own benefit than for you guys. I remember that week so well. It was right at the end of my three day weekend at home for President's Day and we got a phone call at our house on Sunday night at about 10:30. I remember thinking that it was odd that we would get a call that late and immediately the thought that popped into my head was that something was wrong with Grandma...Barnes. Well, after they got off the phone, my dad came to see if I was awake, which I was, and he said that Granny had a stroke and was in the ICU in Oklahoma City. Granny Simeroth, not my grandma Barnes. Mom was crying in the living room when I got out of bed and she told me the real story. It wasn't just a simple stroke, Mom said that she had a hemorrhagic stroke and she was bleeding into her brain at the brainstem. Granny was unconscious and was only breathing because of a ventilator. She would die once they took her off the ventilator and the family knew that was what she would want, so they were going to turn off the ventilator the next morning. I was shocked. It had never crossed my mind that Granny could die now. I knew she was not as well as she once was, but I didn't know that she had been having mini-strokes and problems. I just couldn't believe that Granny was going to die.

We decided that Mom, Dad, and Nate were going to drive to OKC the next morning and that I should drive back to Springfield then too. I did NOT want to go back to school. All I wanted was to see Granny before she died and be with my family, but I had to take a test on that Wednesday. I was miserable when I came back to school. I was just trying to go through the motions, figure out a way to get out of there as quick as possible, and trying not to cry all the time. I can think of instances when all I could do was lay on the ground in my room with the door shut and cry my eyes out. I was crying to God to give me peace and comfort and help me to get through all this. They turned off Granny's ventilator on Monday after my parents got there, but Granny was still breathing. I kept in constant contact with my family about Granny and they told me when her breathing started to slow and become more labored on Tuesday afternoon. I had to talk with all my teachers to try and get class and clinicals worked out so I could go to OKC as soon as possible and they weren't quite understanding or wanting to let me go, but they let me leave Wednesday mid morning after taking my test. I immediately left to go to Oklahoma City and drove as fast as I thought I could get away with and it actually went by pretty quick. I got to the hospital that afternoon and Grandma was in their End of Life room. Most of the family was there or had been there and were just sitting in that room on the couch and chairs just talking and trying to get through this. I remember Granny laying there in bed and just looking like she was straining for every breath, but otherwise she looked just the same as always. My godmother, aunt, Mom, and myself decided to clean Granny up and give her a bath. I felt like that was finally something I could do to help my family. So we got her all cleaned up and she seemed calmer already and her breathing had periods where she would just stop breathing altogether. We all floated in and out of the room and the waiting room down the hall, but Papa only left when we were cleaning her, then came right back. Mom came and got everyone out of the waiting room when Granny's breathing started to slow even more and we knew it wouldn't be much longer. We all said the Rosary prayer, read some Psalms, and parts of the Gospels and New Testament. It was so meaningful for our family to all be together when the time came and she went very peacefully. I almost didn't believe it at first because she was breathing and then she just stopped and we all waited to see if she would start again, but she didn't. Granny passed away shortly after midnight on that Thursday and I knew it was by the grace of God that I was able to be there for her and my family. But I know that God also meant for me to be there for myself, because I don't think I could have gotten over it had I not been there.


Granny was a rather stubborn woman at times, like so many in my family and she couldn't keep her nose out of anything. I guess I'm a little like her that way, cause I always like to know what's going on. She loved us grandkids like crazy and definitely spoiled us a little bit, not as much with gifts but she spoiled us by sometimes letting us get away with things (especially me and my brother cause we lived so far away). She was also the nagger of the family and my mom is sometimes a little like that too, but she never let things really bother her too much. She loved to laugh and did it frequently whenever one of us did something stupid, or in making a little jab at someone else. Granny was the Canasta Queen and we always accused her of cheating at that and Dominos, but she would always just laugh and say we were jealous. That's one thing I miss, is Granny's laugh and all her funny comments. She was a tough lady and never gave up trying to do things on her own, even in her last few months when she was mainly using a walker and wheelchair. I loved her so much and it still hurts sometimes to think of all she missed and how suddenly she was gone, but I'm so glad that she never suffered and this is the way she wanted to go. She was tired of not being able to do things on her own and did not want it to get any worse, so this is the way she wanted it and I'm so grateful that the Lord took her to be with Him.

A Time for Thanksgiving...Part 2

I've talked about my grandpa Barnes and all the wonderful...and sad...but mostly great things about him and his life. So now instead of reading or starting to study for a test, I'm going to talk about my grandma Barnes.

Grandma Barnes with my dad as a baby

Grandma grew up in Peoria, Illinois and then moved to Northwest Missouri a little bit later in her adolescent life. She went through her fair share of hard times when her father, aunt, and uncle were all killed in a train crash when she was I think about 14. She learned how to survive through the those difficult times from her mom who had to raise her and her 2 other siblings alone and also manage to handle a farm right after the accident. But Grandma loves to tell how the entire community pitched in to help harvest corn right after her dad died. I think that may be where she learned her generosity. She frequently volunteered for things at the church and also regularly donated food and other things to the food pantry in town. She had lots of friends and loved spending time with them and just catching up on what was going on in their lives...maybe that's where I get that part of my personality and character. She and my grandpa really encouraged their kids to do better for themselves than they did and tried to give them the best they could to better their lives.


Grandma is still living in a nursing home in Maryville. She's been there for about six years now after living in an assisted living facility for about six months. Her story is a little different from the rest of my grandparents because she has Alzheimer's disease...in the late stages. I haven't gone to visit her in at least 2 years. It may be bad, but I just can't stand to go see her like that and I don't want to remember her that way (although I know it will stick with me forever). She has no idea who I am. She used to think I was my aunt or a cousin or someone related to her, but the last time I saw her she just ignored me and acted like I wasn't there because she did not recognize me at all. It was devastating to me, I knew it would happen, but it really made me so sad for not only myself, but her as well. I can't imagine the kind of darkness she's living in. I know she hates her life...she's said it before and said that she wishes she was gone. It breaks my heart to hear this and it's been something that I've really struggled with in the past...I still don't understand why she's still here and why she has to go through this and why our whole family has to go through this, but I'm trying to just trust God and leave it up to Him. I'm ready though. I've been ready for a long time for her to go to be with God, and when that does happen, I will know she is in a much better place and that she's happy. It's because of her that I'm passionate about research for Alzheimer's and
understanding all their is to know about this horrible disease.

I love the old Grandma Barnes. I really do want to learn how she did things in her life...unfortunately, I won't be able to ask her in person how she made her amazing homemade noodles and rolls, or her secrets to making the perfect quilts. When our family would come over for Sunday dinners, Grandma loved to cook everything for it...the ham or chicken dressing stuff, mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, noodles, rolls, strawberry shortcake...everything! She was an amazing cook!! Also, I really want to learn how to quilt like she did. She had been doing it so long it was like second nature to her. She made quilts for each of the weddings and children in our extended family, as well as for the church bazaar and other quilts with her group at church and any requested quilts from friends or family. She even thought to make a wedding quilt for me and my brother for when we get married as well as baby quilts for our first 2 children. I hope that one day I can learn to be closer to as good as she was. She loved having our family over anytime and was especially glad whenever my brother or I would come over to spend the day with her sometimes in the summer or on holidays. She was a devout church-goer and went every Sunday and she and Grandpa would sit in the same spot every week. I learned that after she went in the nursing home, she started leading her own little group of ladies who would come into her room and she would pull out her Bible and talk with them about it. How amazing!! She really loved her kids and grandkids and wanted them to have a much better life than she had, so she did everything in her power to make sure that happened, but she didn't let them get away with a whole lot and made sure they also understood that they had to earn what they got. I remember every Memorial Day we went out to the various cemetaries in Northwest Missouri and Southwest Iowa where family members were buried. I loved hearing from Grandma the stories of these people and how they were related to us. I liked helping Grandma in the garden when she had a vegetable garden out at our house and with her peonies and magnolias at her house. Grandma was a wonderful lady who loved everyone and I'm striving to learn to be even a little bit close to her domestic abilities. I hope I can be as good a grandma as she was.

A Time for Thanksgiving

Lately I've been thinking a lot about my grandparents on both sides of my family. I don't know why, but it's just come up. Not a sad remembering, but thinking back on all the great memories I have with them and the kind of people they are/were and how much I want to be like them. I am so thankful for the example they taught me and the role models they are/were in their everyday actions. I love them so much and I know with all my heart that they truly love me too!

Grandma and Grandpa Barnes on their wedding day


Honeymoon photo

Grandma and Grandpa Barnes for their 50th anniversary


I didn't get a whole lot of time with my grandpa Barnes, because he passed away when I was in seventh grade, but he was a wonderful, hard-working man. My Barnes grandparents are quite a bit older than my other grandparents because my dad is younger than his sisters, but I remember them well because they were in Maryville. My grandpa was a strong, stubborn man who believed you worked for what you had. He was a good ole farm boy, born and raised in Northwest Missouri. He was also the silent type, I think that's where I get some of my quiet nature, but he was smart and could fix or figure out what to do about seemingly anything, and he passed that on to my dad. In his last few months his Parkinson's disease started to worsen and he was falling at home and my grandma couldn't get him up herself. Also, he was beginning to develop Alzheimer's disease, so we had to put him in the nursing home. I know that was hard on him, but from what I can remember, he dealt with it surprisingly well, except for trying to pull some hyjinks at the home! He would try and break out frequently and would play tricks on the staff...which he kinda got in trouble for, but I'm glad that he was happy at the time.

I still remember everything about the evening I found out he had passed away. He had only been in the nursing home for a few months, and it was December 15, the night of our church's Christmas program for the kids and I was in charge of a station where they could make snowflakes out of beads and then we were going to give them to nursing home residents. I was excited to make one for my grandpa and give it to him. My mom was there too helping out with something. All of a sudden I see the director of my grandpa's nursing home come in (she went to our church too) and she started talking to my mom in the middle of the fellowship hall. Next think I know, Mom comes over to my table and tells me that we're leaving. She didn't say why, just said that we were all leaving. We start walking out into the parking lot and we see our student assistant (my mom and him always gave each other a hard time) and he started joking with mom, but she told him to stop and whispered to him what was going on. Then they hugged and we continued on to the car. I kept asking her what was going on, and she told me that Grandpa had died and that we were going over to help Grandma with things. We got there and Mom had to tell Grandma, which I'm sure was very hard for her, and we started calling other family members including my dad who was in Jeff City. Then, we went to see Grandpa at the nursing home. He was so pale and looked like he was just sleeping in his bed. He looked so peaceful, but I was still so sad for losing him. His was only the second family member's funeral I had attended.

I remember a bunch of good things about my grandpa. He was the best tickler and he could always make me laugh by chasing me around the house, but he would always catch me and give me a "tickle attack". He was the designated potato-masher for our Sunday dinners and he would even let me help sometimes. He would go out with me to ride my tricycle or bike in their paved driveway. He would wander around with me outside or in their house to find "new" toys to play with. He was, like the rest of my family, a farmer through and through and would always come out to our house to help whenever we were haying, harvesting, or working cows. I loved to go out to the pasture with him and the rest of my family and count cows, help feed, and watch them try and catch the calves to tag them. He was a good man and I hope that I can be even a little bit as strong and resourceful as he was. I'm so thankful for the time I had with him.

Keeping My Head Above Water

Oi vey! What a week this has been! I've been crazy busy with school in the last week and it will continue to be a little nuts until after Thanksgiving. I'm sure it's the same for the rest of you though. :( I'm just trying to keep up.

I know you all LOVE to hear about my football teams, so I'll update you now on all that is going on in the Barnes family world of football.
1. The Bearcats (10-1, 9-0 MIAA) are MIAA Conference Champs and are entering the playoffs for the 11th time in the last 13 years! We're playing Pitt State at home next Saturday!!!


2. The Maryville High School Spoofhounds are doing very well this year in football too! They haven't been this good since my Junior and Senior year of high school. They are conference champs and 12-1 and are going to be playing in the quarterfinals for state at Fair Grove. Go Hounds!

In other news, I am getting excited but scared for next semester. How weird that I will be graduating college! It seems like just a little bit ago that I arrived in Springfield for the first time, walked around campus with my parents and Brooke and Sarah, cried as they all left me here, and had to go on learning to live with complete strangers. And look at me now, I'm living with all people that I had never known before coming to college and we're the best of friends! I'm excited to start off in doing what I really want to do and feeling important and making a difference and helping people in their hard times. But I, like I'm sure all of you, are nervous about getting to that point and having to make all the decisions in between. First, I'm nervous about even being able to graduate and passing my final HESI and the NCLEX. Yikes! It's just scary to think that four years of college could go down the drain if I don't pass these tests. :( Also, I'm scared because I don't know where I want to work. A big part of me wants to stay in Springfield for a little bit, but what if I don't get a job in Peds that I like...or do I even want to do Peds for sure...I'd be fine with Labor & Delivery too, but I just don't know! Or if I don't stay in Springfield where should I go...will I get a job in Kansas City? Or what if I go to Tulsa? Where will I live in either of those places? So many decisions and it seems like it's all coming so fast! Someone who graduated last year said she started applying for jobs in January. That means I've got to get info on benefits and all that between now and then and figure out what I'm even supposed to apply for! Jeesh! It's all coming so fast! I'm excited about it all...but hope I get everything done between now and then!

Love you all!!!! Thanks for all you guys do!

Climbing Mountains...Running the Race

So I thought I should probably describe my title for you guys cause it seems kinda random. Well, I've been reading this little book that my mom got me called God Always Has a Plan B. It's full of just quotes and advice from people and Bible verses. One that struck me was this:

"Things aren't always as easy as we would like. But if you keep on keeping on, you can make it. Every road has an end; every mountain has its peak. If you can just cold on and keep climbing, knowing that God is aware of how we're straining, He will bring us over and up the mountains."

As all of you know, I tend to freak out a little bit when things get tough, especially school because that's the focus right now in my life. I'm trying to change that. I really am, by trusting God with everything in my life and leaving it up to Him and His great plans He has in store for me. It's hard though, because I still have my freak out moments when I fall asleep and don't wake up when I want to so I can't get that last bit of studying in. I know that this doesn't please God because I get so preoccupied with it that I almost always end up doing worse on the test or whatever, and I skip my quiet times to do the studying I think I should be doing. I have faith that God will help me get through the hard times in my life and He's rejoicing with me when things seem easy. I know I'm still going to struggle with climbing those mountains in my life and running the race set before me, but I have to trust in the Lord to help me through it and know that it's instilling perseverance in me to make me a better person.

So if you see me starting to freak out about tests or quizzes or getting everything done, just remind me that God is with me and that this too shall pass. I know I'll probably need a little encouragement next semester as I take the final HESI to graduate and the NCLEX exam!

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Fall Family Fun

The last two weekends I've had the opportunity to visit my family and what a wonderful time it's been! On fall break I got to see Mom, Dad, and Nate in Maryville and go home to the farm. I love my home and my house and can't imagine my life without growing up in the Ville. To some it seems boring with weird rituals, weird people, and many don't understand my love for the Bearcats, but I love just about everything about my hometown. It's home and I love it and my family.

This weekend I went to the small town of Warner, Oklahoma and visited another major part of my family. I got to see my grandpa (Papa), uncle Ray, aunt Sharah, and my cousin Staci. I really love going down there. They all are just so grounded and really understand what's important in life. They don't worry about the petty things down there and don't judge people near as much as I do sometimes. Everyone is their neighbor down there and they do what they can to help them out and support them in their struggles. They take joy in the simple things and in working for what they have. I don't think enough people in this world really take pride in that and work for what they have. That is one thing that I'm so glad my entire family has instilled in me. Not only my Oklahoma family, but also my immediate family. It may come from the hard-working farmers I have in my family, but we are proud to have what we do and we know it's all a blessing from God. My grandpa, aunt, and uncle are all such great Christians and I am always fed spiritually just by being around them and seeing their good examples. This weekend was no different. Papa, Sharah, and Raymond are so encouraging to me to do well and continue to strive to be better. They believe in me soo much and are always supporting me in my schoolwork, work with the youth, and so much more. They know I can succeed, even before I do and they remind me of that and calm my fears. I just love them so much and I'm so blessed to have such a supportive family!!