Originally, we had planned to travel to Dallas over New Year's to visit Josh, Cindy, Emma and Cole. But, some things happened and we needed to travel to Phoenix and see Grandmother and Granddad. We packed up the car and drove out on Thursday as soon as I got off work. We were going to stay the night in Albuquerque, but decided to drive all the way through. We left Texas at about 6 and arrived in Phoenix at about 9. It was a long trip, but I'm SO glad we went. I'm so blessed because I had all four of my grandparents and two of my great-grandparents. My dad never knew his grandparents, so we were very blessed to get to spend a lot of time with ours. My grandmother taught me how to play Uno, gin and do puzzles. She loved puzzles. She also made the best Christmas candy ever. She also loved to fish. She didnt' care about touching the worms. Every time she and Granddad would wait up for us to arrive. She was ok when we grew taller than she was. She would stand back to back and let us measure all the time. She always wore a snap button robe over her jammies when she woke up and cooked breakfast. She always told us to stand up striaght and point our toes straight when we walked. She would always let us sleep until we woke up. She let me stay up late and read and sleep on the couch so I didn't have to share a bed with Whitney all the time. I loved their house and the way the pillows smelled. Granddad always had ice cream, I mean ALWAYS. He would eat pie with cheese and cake with butter. He loved to pick on me. He called me blondie, still does sometimes, even though my hair is brown now. He played basketball with us. He always works the crosswords puzzle and reads the comics. He wore thin panyhose socks. He carries a bandana for a hankie. He eats bananas in his cereal. He has a spot under his nose and one on his hand from the carbon black. No matter how early I woke up, he was always already awake. He could do pushups one handed. He loves coffee with plain creamer and no sugar. Peanut butter goes with pancakes. Every year for our birthday they would send us a dollar for how old we were. They were the best grandparents ever. I have not seen much of them lately. Its been hard with them so far away and Taylor being so young. We did fly out there when she was about four months old. They have been here I think two times also. Taylor loves GG and Other Granddad. That's what she calls them.
Taylor had a blast playing with Christopher. He is my cousin Stefanie's son. It's hard to believe he's getting so old. He beat me at Jenga fair and square.
The weather was so nice while we were there. We got out a few time and took a little walk with GG and other Granddad.
On our way home we had a little bit of car trouble. We stopped at the Petrified Forrest and the Painted Desert. It was so much fun. I had always wanted to stop there, but we never did. So, Jackie let me stop and we had a great time. We made a little picnic and it was really cold outside. Here are a few pics from our little stop there!
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We made it home safe and sound. It was a long trip, but I'm so glad we were able to do it.
On Thursday, January 14th when I got out of class Jackie called me and told me that they had taken PawPaw by ambulance to the hospital for chest pain. I drove straight from Canyon to BSA. I stayed at the hospital with Mom until about 12:30 that night. They decided to keep him overnight to observe him. About an hour after I left he had a massive heart attack and they moved him downstairs to the CCU. While there he had another massive heart attack. Then he had any where from 20-25 little heart attacks. Friday afternoon we moved him to BSA hospice. I stayed there with him until he passed away on Monday morning about 6:35 am. The last thing he said to me was that he loved me. I have never been right with someone when they passed. He was very peaceful and I know that was because he knew the Lord. The hardest thing I have ever had to do was to pick up the phone and call my mom and tell her. That week was a blur. It was hard on Mema. She has alzheimer's and has a hard time understanding. Taylor is so blessed to have gotten to know them. They love seeing her! She was very concerned about him and made sure to check on him. He did smile the last time he saw her. I know he loved her too. I know now he is not hurting, but it's hard on Mom. The funeral was so nice. A man from their church did the service and told so many great stories. One thing I will never forget is how my PawPaw prayed. You could really tell how much he respected God. His voice and posture would change. He always started, "Our gracious heavenly Father, we thank you for this day," If we were eating (we thank you for this food). And then when he closed he would say, "Lord guide, guard, and direct us, in Jesus' name Amen." I know he was stubborn and sometimes hard to get along with, but he was a very good man. I know he tried to do what he thought was right and that's all any of us can ever do. I will miss him very much and I'm so glad I was there to hold his hand and wipe his forehead. I hope I did enough to make sure he knew how much I loved him and wanted him to be comfortable. Over the last three years, I spent a lot of time with him and I know that Mema loved him. I really admire that they spent their entire lives together. That tells you the kind of man he was. He always stuck by his word. He was dedicated and loyal. I want to be more like that. PawPaw, I will always love you and will miss you very much, but I promise we are taking good care of Mema.
Sorry, these posts are so heavy, the last few months have had a lot of emotion in them. Here's some of the fun things we have done lately. POOL. Jackie loves pool and it really good at it. I'm terrible but want to learn. The Church had a pool table donated to them so we have been practicing a lot lately. On Friday we had a date and played from 9:30 pm until 2 am. Just one game after another. It was really fun! I hope I will get good enough to beat him, I mean really beat him, not just win because he scratched on the 8 ball. Taylor loves to play too, these pics are a little dark, sorry!
Another super happy day was Wednesday! It was Taylor's 3rd birthday! We woke up and she wanted chocolate chip waffles, so before school I made her some. We sang and she got to blow out the candles! Then I took her out for a special birthday lunch. Then we went back to her school and had a party! We had cupcakes and party hats and horns! It was so much fun! Then we went to the Credit Union to make a commercial. Then Mom took her for a few hours and had some bonding time. Then when Jackie and I got off we went out to eat with Mom and Dad for her birthday. She wanted to go to Olive Garden. She LOVES pasta! It was so much fun. As we were going to bed she said, "Mommy can it be my birthday again tomorrow?" Guess that means we did a great job celebrating! Her party is on Saturday. I will post some snow pics and party pics soon, I hope. Here are some birthday pics!
Happy Birthday Sweet Taylor! Life is so rich with you in it! I'm so blessed to be your Mommy! I look forward to the many more memories to come! I'm so proud of the sweet girl you are becoming! Daddy and I love you so much!
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