Mom's journey was an eventful one.  She was a creative and active little girl.  Playing in the snow and putting on little skits for her family.  In high school she was involved in many sports and clubs.  It was always fun to look through her yearbooks.  In every group picture we would search for her face... she loved participating in all sorts of programs.  She moved from South Dakota to California when she was in her 20's.  She just had that adventurous spirit.  She was an elementary school teacher, a Tupperware manager, a room mom, an insurance agent, a church program coordinator and a hospital volunteer... showing parents-to-be everything they needed to know about the maternity wing.  She was a loving and caring grandma.   Most importantly she taught us children that even though she was unable to communicate verbally during the final years of her illness, she was still our mom and she loved each one of us unconditionally.  We learned so much from her and we didn't even know it... she really was a teacher until her journey ended.