Dad is absolutely 'somebody to love' and he has lots of somebody's that he loves absolutely unconditionally. Thank you Dad for loving us all so very much! You always say that life wouldn't be worth much without all of us 'somebody's' and no one could possibly mistake what is most important to you and that is family. Also, thank you Dad for being my #1 blog fan. This tribute is for you even though I know you hate your picture taken and probably will hate even more that I put together over 40 of them of you. Hope you still love it :) I love you so much Dad!
We got snowed in in January. Sam was away working during the biggest storm when our carport decided to cave in. Luckily I have good friends and neighbors to help dig me out. This was the view from our kitchen for quite some time.
....for those of you who don't get it and think it is GPS coordinates like my family, that is actually a due date!!!! I sent my girls on a scavenger hunt and the last egg led them to an egg hiding in my shirt which then had the due date written on it. My wonderful sister Whitney started screaming since she figured it out first and then we bawled and hugged. I love you whits! We have been wanting this for quite some time and so we are extremely excited!
My dearest Grandpa passed away on February 10, 2010. He is one of the top greatest men I know and he has left an incredible legacy to follow. My little family decided to take the trip up to say good bye to Grandpa in the hospital. That Wednesday was truly a beautiful, spiritual, and tearful day. I was worried about the girls being there that day, but it turned out to be the most memorable experience I have ever had with them. I have never seen my very spirited girls be so calm and good for a very long 8 hours. These beautiful innocent children brought the Spirit so strong to that small hospital room. They were so content to just sit and hold Grandpa's warm and strong hands. Even though Grandpa was never awake during this time, I know he could feel their sweet little hands and hear their soft voices. Children were always Grandpa's favorites, especially in his last years. I to was so grateful to sit and hold his hand as we all sat around just remembering.
The funeral was the next Saturday and absolutely everyone made it except for one cousing who is on his mission. The Aunt's and Uncle's set up these tables just full of incredible pictures and objects from Grandpa's life. It was an amazing dispaly of so many things Grandpa loved and accomplished. First of all, he has to be the most handsome military man I have ever seen.
Grandpa loved Photography!! He did their family pictures each year for Christmas and would even develop them in his own make shift dark room in their home. I wish so badly that I could have picked his brain and learned from him before the dementia. My new love for photography has really made me feel a new connection to him. I think of him when I get really discouraged and want to quit and just the thought of him makes me want to keep on trying.
This little book was full of his own hand written notes on how to do many different tricks in the planes he flew. That is such a treasure and I had no clue it existed. You can almost see the instructions on how to do a 'Lazy 8' in this picture.
This picture was also on the tables. I absolutely need the original to this. Grandpa was my dad's #1 helper when building our log home and this is an absolute great shot of the 'boys' all workin' on the roof.
This was the grandkids arrangement. It had pictures of all 34 grandkids with Grandpa. The arrangement was put together by Lou's Petal Patch. Staci did an incredible job. Just click on the link to see her site and more arrangements she did for the funeral. Thank you so much Staci!
We had old rolled up newspapers put in the arrangement because Grandpa use to play quite an entertaining game called 'Bull'. He was the Bull and we were the poor grandkids trying not to get whacked with the newspapers. Grandpa was always so williing to play with all us crazy grandkids. The thing was, you could always tell that he completely loved playing with all of us.
Another arrangement that Staci did from the Senior Citizens. This was Grandpa's favorite cereal and they always made sure they had a box ready for him. Grandma really loved this one.
Grandpa is very handsome, but the women in his life are also very beautiful! These are the 3 most beautiful Grandma's I know. This is my Grandma and Grandpa's 2 sisters.
Witnessing a funeral with military honors is an experience I will always cherish. I was overwhelmed with pride and gratitude. It was emotional and very spiritual.
This last picture was taken by Cody and I am so grateful to him. I love taking pictures but am rarely in them. I will treasure this picture forever. Thank you Cody!
Farewell Grandpa. Even in your death you have strengthened me and encouraged me to be a better person, to work hard and to whistle while working hard, to have a peaceful nature, to love playing with the children, to learn and be whatever I want to learn or be, to always be happy and give a smile, to share with others what's most important to me, to create a close and eternal family, and to accomplish a great legacy! You have done all this and much more. Thank you, thank you for leading the way!
I really really want to do better at staying caught up on my blog but it's just not going to happen unless I just do one big slideshow which includes November, December, and some of January. We had a great Thanksgiving, a huge Christmas, and a laid back happy new year.
