"I'm extremely grateful to Janelle at Comfy in the Kitchen for sharing this post with us so soon after losing her precious mother-in-law, Kathy. My hope is that we will all learn to love others better through reading about Kathy's love for her family." -Adina, TakeThemAMeal.com

Every time we would go over to "Grandma Puppies" house, she would be certain to make the kids an ice cream cone...that was the first thing they would ask as they'd run through her doors. "Grandma! Can we have an ice cream cone?!- She'd smile real big, laugh and say, Ohhh, alright (with a grin) let's go upstairs - you know the drill." And they did. They would climb up the counter to get the sprinkles on the top shelf, then reach up into the freezer and get all three flavors out {she always bought them their individual favorites}, then they would open up the refrigerator to get out the whipped cream, syrup, and the cherries. The only things grandma would get were the cones and the "surprise" that went at the bottom. That surprise was a big deal....would it be a gum ball? M&M's? Hmmmm.....you'd have to eat the whole ice cream cone to find out.

In this photo, my dear mother-in-law would pass away in just 4 months from stage 4 breast cancer -a battle she fought for 6 years. It was extremely painful for her to walk and she needed assistance to get up the stairs - but it didn't matter to her. She would have ran a marathon if it meant putting a smile on her grandchildren's faces.

She was pretty good at putting smiles on their faces....

So, I write this with tears streaming down my face...

Fast forward 4 months and we were all staying at a beautiful and loving hospice facility. She was in one room and we were in a suite down the hall. What rolls up? These amazing volunteers with an ice cream buffet. Our kids RAN into grandma's room to tell her the great news. She got the biggest smile on her face. It was so special....words can't even describe how special. Once again, ice cream placed joy in our childrens lives even amidst tragedy.

Ice cream.

These sweet people thought of everything and were so full of joy to give. They told me they did this every Tuesday for the guests and their families. I was so thankful and told them all about how special this was to our family.

All of our friends and family members had a sundae and sat around with smiles...

What a ministry....ice cream.