Travis's step dad was abruptly admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. That was on a Thursday. Only 8 days later, he passed away. We were all saddened and shocked by how quickly he was taken from us and cling to the knowledge that we will see him again some day.
Leon passed away on Sunday night. Monday, I took the girls to school and went to him mom's with the rest of the family to help where I could. After spending most of the day over there, Travis and I picked up the girls and explained to them what had happened. Unfortunately, this is the second grandfather they have had pass away from cancer, so they understand it all too well.
Tuesday, I worked and the girls went to school. I arranged with my mom and dad for the girls to come stay with them for the visitation and funeral. Travis and I decided that they were just too young to deal with all of that. We need to shield them and protect that childhood innocence for as long as possible.
Wednesday, we loaded up and met my parents in Y-city for the swapping of the children. That night was the visitation at the funeral home. Lots of people showed up in support of Lisa, Leon and the family. Lewis and Robbie drove all the way from Conway just for the visitation. Lewis had to work at 5am, so they drove back that night.
Thursday was the funeral. It was a nice graveside service (soooo hot, though). Afterwards, our old church family in DeQueen provided lunch for everyone. Despite such a horribly sad situation, it was nice to see people come together and support each other during times like these.
During our quick trip to DeQueen, we also got to visit with Travis's Mimi and his step mom. It was so good to see them, as we don't get to see them as often as we should. While we were there, they gave us some old pictures of Travis when he was a little baby. They are hilarious. (There's a whole post coming on those!)
Thursday evening, we met my mom in Y-city and picked up Catherine. She kept the big girls for "Camp Honey" until Sunday. They swam, skied, played and got spoiled. I would say Camp Honey 2011 was a success!
Friday, I worked from home and ran some errands. While the big girls were gone, we started the great room shuffle (moving Catherine out of a crib and into a room with Hannah and Emma into her new room). All the moving, re-decorating and organizing wore us out.
Saturday, I finished up Emma's room. Once I got everything in place, I still had this HUGE pile (this picture does not do it justice) of stuff that had no home. Travis helped me bag up 3 1/2 trash bags of toys that will be going to the Children's Shelter. (Emma and Hannah need to be glad they weren't home...because some of the stuff I found under that bed was RIDICULOUS!
By Sunday morning, I had our whole house cleaned out and re-organized. Boy did it feel good! My parents were nice enough to drive the girls all the way home. They had Emma's bed in their storage building, so they brought that and mom helped me get her room finished up. (I'll do a post on all the house changes/updates soon!). Thanks so much for helping us! Ya'll are the best!
During this craziness (if anyone is still reading!), we got our old dog Jack back. Catherine LOVES him and is always taking him pillows while he sleeps. Poor Jack!
Now that I have everyone up to date on our lives again, I will start posting regularly. So...stay tuned!
1 comment:
We will be praying for your family, Boni.
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