family

Updates

Boy, I’ve really been a slacker. You have to stop letting me get away with not blogging often.

Let’s see…

The last weekend in April my whole family got together (except dad) at our house for a cookout to celebrate Kelly’s upcoming Bday (May 2nd). It was so nice to have everyone in one spot. Justin grilled for us and mmmmm. It rained earlier in the day but stopped in time for the cookout. Java was a good girl too. Erin brought her ultrasound tape and we got to see lil Walker in action. I even got to feel him kick. He’s gonna be a soccer player! 😉

This past weekend my family, including dad (but not Justin) went to Erin and Mike’s neck of the woods for a baby shower. It was a lot of fun and we got to see the nursery (Erin did a GREAT job!). It was good to get to visit her for a little while.

Now this weekend I have Relay for Life and I have to work graduation here at GWU from 8am-2pm on Saturday. It will be a busy weekend. This summer is filling up fast.

I guess that’s all for now. Have a great day!

more Bday wishes

I’d like to send a belated birthday wish to April (sorry it’s late, I was travelling back and forth to NJ this weekend and your card is in the mail). Hope you had a great day!

Happy Birthday!

I’d like to take a moment and wish Lunsford (Erin) a Very Happy Birthday!!! Wish we could be there with you today! Have a great day! We are thinking about you!

NJ bound

It looks like Justin, Kelly, and I are going to be heading to NJ next Friday for a memorial service for my Grandma on April 23rd. We won’t have much time to stay and visit but we will be happy to be able to make the service. Justin might also get the opportunity to see where I grew up. Maybe someday we will get to go for a longer time. Wish us luck on yet another journey away from home and away from our “kids”. Boy this has been a busy 7 months.

Bye Bye Rosie

I have sad news tonight. I have been informed that the family bird has passed away. His/her (we never knew for sure but probably “his”) name was Rosie because of his rosie cheeks. He lived approximately 15 years with us. We got him at least 2 years before moving down to NC and have been here for 13 years now. He survived the long journey by van and has always been a part of our family while residing in the living room. He was a good bird…and had quite the personality. Rest in Peace little guy!

with my Grandpa

For those of you that haven’t heard, my Grandma passed away on Friday evening. Each night since she was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday, the doctors said they didn’t feel she would make it through the night. She sure showed them.

God was really with my grandma and my family during the long struggle. The nurse she had the first night used to work at the nursing home where my grandma stayed. She knew all about her, which comforted us all. We saw people we hadn’t seen in years and were surrounded by many friendly nurses. Mandino checked in regularly to see if she could help in anyway, which she did by just being there. My aunt was able to make the trip from New Jersey to be by her mom’s side. We all even went out to dinner at Pizza Hut which we all thought was impossible. It actually was a good experience and I think we all needed each other’s company and support. Everyone got the chance to visit with my Grandma and as the days passed she became weaker and weaker. On Friday she mainly slept and only opened her eyes a few times. My aunt had to catch a flight back on Friday afternoon but was happy to spend the time she did with her.

Kelly and I were able to get to the hospital on Friday around 11:15am. We sat with grandma for a long while and just talked while trying to let her rest. At some point a lady named “Ms. Dorothy” stopped by. She had also been friends with Mandy’s Nanny before she passed away. Ms. Dorothy stayed for a little while and shared stories with us about her visits with my grandma. She prayed for my grandma and even got her to open her eyes for a few minutes. At this point she asked us to hold our grandma’s hands and talk to her and tell her how much we loved her. She then listened to her struggled breaths and told us she was a nurse as well and that my grandma didn’t have long. This was something no other nurse had let us know even though we had asked and we appreciated it so much. God works in such mysterious ways. By having Ms. Dorothy there we were able to get past our fear of crying and talking with my grandma and we were able to tell her we loved her and that it was ok for her to go and that we would all be ok. This was something I’m sure my sister nor I ever thought we’d be saying. Despite all of our family’s efforts to let my grandma know it was ok to go to Heaven, she still wouldn’t go.

A little while later Kelly and I decided to go to the vending machines and grab some “dinner”. We sat and talked for a little bit in the corner of the room while snacking. One of the nurses came in and asked if grandma liked music because they had a cd player that we could use. We told her how much she loved to listen to music and how almost always the music was playing when we would visit. The nurse left to get the cd player and I mentioned to Kelly that I thought I would feel more of a “presence” in the room as time drew near but I didn’t feel anything yet so we must have more time with her. The nurse came in with the cd player and plugged it in and could not find the cd. She left the room to go look and a few seconds later my grandma took her last breath. We stumbled out of our chairs to get to her and hold her hands. At that time the CD fell from the top of the Cd player and my grandma was gone. We cried and held her hands for quite some time. Then I began to put the pieces together about the music and out of comic relief told the nurse that my grandma must not have liked the music. I knew right then that God was showing me that He is ALWAYS there and so I guess He told me.

My Grandma was one of the greatest people I’ve ever known. She was definitely stubborn too (Go Irish!). We also figured out why she didn’t go to Heaven sooner. While she was still living with my parents, she pouted one night about something and was storming to her room when my dad told her she should just go to her room if she was going to be that way. My Grandma stomped right back down and sat on the couch and said “If you are going to tell me to go to my room then I’m going to stay right here” (or something of those sorts). So now we understand that my grandma was not going to go to Heaven when we told her to but when she was ready to go herself.

Rest in Peace Grandma! Have a good dance with Grandpa!

a little update

I called my mom this morning and they said the hospital called them around midnight last night to warn them that my grandma might not pull through the night. They didn’t call me or my sisters to keep us from worrying. This morning Kelly called for an update and the nurse said she seemed to be doing a little better but she wasn’t out of the woods yet. Tonight Justin and I plan to drive to Brevard to see her and see if we can help out my parents or sister.

Thank you for your continued prayers.

on a lighter note…

I wanted to wish my friend and college roomie, Melissa a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I won’t say how old she is because….I know she’d kill me. Have a good one!