My grandpa...

As I look back over the past week, I have so much to be grateful for.

Our little family was to make the trip to Kansas City for the week on Friday after work. However, Mike's body had other plans. He had kidney stones that basically crippled him for a few days. He just didn't think he could make the trip. I had gotten sick earlier that week, and was REALLY sick. Everything was stacked against us .... but I had this feeling. This STRONG feeling that I needed to be home. Mike had gone to the doctor, who refused to let him go back to work for over a week, and the doctor said "hey.... go home to KC for the week, I'll give you some medicine to help you endure the car trip." So, away we left.

We arrived early in the morning on Saturday. Spent a few days with Mike's family. My cousin Kasey's father passed away, and his funeral was on Monday afternoon, but it was 2.5 hours away. I just didn't think w/ my horrible cough I wanted to make that trip, because I would've been riding with my grandparents. I was so worried I would get them sick. I went to the Minute Clinic that morning, found out I had a sinus infection. So, I was on the mend finally with some antibiotics.

By Tuesday morning, I received an email from my mom, telling me that my grandpa was in the ICU at the local hospital. He had pneumonia. By that afternoon, we were visiting him. The girls & I watched him breathe so hard..... he was in pain just trying to breathe. He saw me and said "hi sweetie!", and tried to talk to me. I hushed him and said "Grandpa, it's probably better if you don't speak because your oxygen level goes down when you talk." When we said goodbye, I gave him my cheek to kiss, but he always goes for the lips.....

We visited on Wednesday, he was improving. Thursday morning he was holding steady. No more rattling in his lungs. He had a face mask on by this time to get better oxygen. Many many years ago, he was in a fire caused by chemicals (he was a firefighter), and endured some health problems because of this fire. As he got older, he developed pulmonary fibrosis.... and eventually had to be put on oxygen (just the week prior). Pulmonary fibrosis + pneumonia isn't a great thing.

Thursday morning the entire family meets at the hospital (totally not planned, we just all showed up at around the same time). He was asleep. Doing great. So, we all go home to prepare for our Thanksgiving dinner. By 1:00 that afternoon, we head over to my grandma's house. Then we get a phone call from my cousin, who hadn't seen Grandpa until that day. The death of her own father still fresh in her own mind. His oxygen level suddenly dropped majorly. He wasn't doing too well. I left Mike & the girls at my grandma's house and left with my parents. My brother was called. The entire family headed up to the hospital.

He suffered a heart attack, and then his oxygen level tanked. The doctor said he didn't think he had much longer. Everyone was called in.... and we waited for my final cousin to come in so we could take the mask off and let him die peacefully. We all whispered little words in his ear. Told him how much we loved him. Cried on his chest. Kissed his cheek. Rubbed his hair that he just cut so he could look as he did in his teens. We said goodbye.

He did die peacefully. It was so painful. The hardest thing I have ever had to go through. I have never experienced death of someone so close to me. I was always Grandpa's girl. My favorite place to sit was in his lap. His strong arms surrounding me. Listening to him hum songs and play his harmonica. He had a beautiful voice.

I've been pulling all the pictures together for a video, plus making his program and display table. I'm so proud of my grandpa. He was a wonderful man. He lived a great life, despite his imperfections. But in my eyes.... he didn't have any imperfections.

Miss Maddie....

Just a few minutes old...

With the cutest smile...

Miss Maddie turns nine.

Nine is super fine!

It's a fact!

Fact: I cut my hair. Had a rough few days with it. Finally had a good hair day on Sunday. I think I'll keep it as long as it keeps giving me good hair days.

Fact: Maddie doesn't move at all when she sleeps. Literally.

Fact: Katie goes to bed with her socks on. When she runs out of socks or when I change the sheets, we find all her socks..... at the bottom of the bed.

Fact: Just realized Maddie does the same thing.

Fact: I love it when my kids are asleep. They don't: roll their eyes, backtalk, become a smart allec (how do you spell that?), or fight with eat other. It's quiet! Just the way I like it!

Fact: None of us girls can't stop saying to Mike "so, did you catch anything?" when we ask him if he shot anything while hunting. The answer... yes, he "caught" a buck. Last Saturday. Finally, a good smiling picture of him. It has been brought to my attention that we finally have a good smiling picture of him with (of all things)... a deer. Not his kids (b/c he just sticks his tongue out at the camera), but a deer. A deer brings a smile to his face. ::rolling eyes:: Poor Bambi


Fact: I used to love it when my dad brought home a deer to slaughter. That meant I got to hold the head when they cut it up.

Fact: No one knew that about me... now they do. (again, thanks to my dad who spilled the beans first on my facebook page)

Fact: I hate venison. I told Mike to give the meat away to everyone he saw before he came home. He didn't listen to me.

Fact: I will only eat meat from the following: chicken, turkey and cows. No, not fish, or anything that swims or lives in water. Nor anything else that moves. It's a mind thing.... I blame my dad. He wouldn't eat it, and since daddy's know best, I did the right thing by following his example.

Fact: I get really nervous every time I do a photoshoot. I always think my pictures aren't going to turn out.

Fact: My rooster's name is now Brewster. Thanks Dad for the suggestion. Even if he's not really a rooster.

Fact: I think Bill Engvall is the funniest guy ever. Here is one of my favorites of him... my girls and I laugh over & over & over again.

My sleeping beauties

Friday night I couldn't get sleepy.

I let the girls stay up and watch TV...

Finally at 10:22 p.m. I started to get sleepy, and called out to the girls to get ready to hit the sack.

No answer.

I peeked around the corner, and this is what I find....


Sweet Dreams my sweet girls....

Just Mommy & Maddie

Last weekend, Katie & Mike went to our property and went hunting for 4 days. Pure bliss, they tell me. OK... if sitting in a tree for 3 hours in the cold is bliss, then whatever floats their boat, y'know?

However, Maddie & I? We had a blast together. This kid talks... a LOT! She's normally a very quiet little gal, but take away her sister and you'll see that she talks nonstop. I was a little rattled. But I loved it!

Since Halloween was last weekend, and I had that picture shoot for our church on Friday night, we made up for our lost time on Saturday. So, we did what any other girls do. GO SHOPPING!

But first.. we had manicures. Well, it actually started that Maddie wanted a manicure. I was against it. "It's a waste of money... " {she was paying for it, not me} But, it was going to go w/ her Halloween outfit, so I said "OK..." While she was getting hers done, I decided "wow, that looks like fun!". I had never had a manicure done before, so before I knew it, I was sitting in the chair with my fingers in a bowl of water with rocks. ROCKS?! Why rocks? I dunno.... But now I'm sold on manicures! My nails & cuticles look... so awesome!

I had to choose between a million colors. Geez... finally I decided to step out of my element and go for something I've never gone for before. Dark brown. Chocolate brown. DELICIOUS! I have to say, that I LOVED it! I shot a picture of our nails (Maddie chose purple), and I got the reply back from Katie "uh, why did you pick that color?" and "Dad wants to know if you're going Goth now".

Later that night, after enjoying a salad at Wendy's and a Target shopping trip, Maddie got ready for our church's annual Trunk or Treat activity. Basically, kids walk in a parking lot to all the people we know, who are standing at their trunks of their vehicles, and they ask for candy. Then we go home, and it's over in 45 minutes. LOVE IT!

One thing about Halloween is that I refuse to spend money on costumes. $40 costumes, to be exact. We've always tried to do homemade costumes, or at least, use things at home and if I have to go to the dollar store to help it out, then I will. So Maddie went as a Spa Princess. We had an unfortunate time trying to find blue or green face paint so she could have a mask, so I decided that she could just put on makeup since rich people get the spa treatment all the time... and they all get fancy. {maybe not true, but for the sake of this story and for my little girl who wasn't all that thrilled w/ how her costume was going, the thought of wearing makeup was enough to get her going}. She got the full treatment in makeup. Happens only once a year.

And as usual, we had a short 5 minute photoshoot with her Halloween outfit... she definitely looks like a mini-socialite! I love her expressions. Which are NORMAL for her!