A year later............

Well, it's been a year now that my mom has died. Still so much to do. I miss her everyday.
I closed out her estate on Saturday. That is done now, and I am thankful for that.
I still have half a garage of her belongings to go through. I will do that this spring and summer. My
daughter will help me with that. But it's still hard to go through her belongings. I feel as though I am
intruding on her privacy. It makes me sad.

My arm is almost fully healed. It still hurts sometimes.
My husbands knees are doing well!
My boy is doing well in his new school.
My daughter is doing well.

Grief..................

My sweet mom died on April 24, 2016. I am so sad. Losing a dad is hard but losing a mom is a

million times harder.  

It's just the most awful thing I have ever been through. Going through her stuff feels like I am invading 

her privacy and snooping. It's a horrible feeling.

Mom had not been well for a while, and I brought her to the Dr. on a Wednesday for results of an echo

on her heart. The cardiologist sent her right to the hospital. The wonderful doctors got her fixed up in 

the hospital, but really, it was only a band aid.  She had congestive heart failure and kidney failure.  The doctor told me and one of my brothers that she likely would not make it til her birthday in July.  

She wasn't ready to die right then anyway. She was sent to rehab to gain strength and she died in rehab. 

I was fortunate enough to be with her when she drew her last breath, and all of my siblings and sister-

in laws and nieces and nephews were able to visit with her.

I am just so sad.......

Louie............

My  sweet Louie.

We lost him today. He hadn't been feeling well recently and was at the vet in early December. He took

antibiotics for three weeks and seemed to be feeling better.  A couple days ago I noticed he had

enlarged lymph nodes. 

Today he was struggling, not feeling well, vomiting and he had trouble breathing. Just out of it.

We brought him to the vet knowing it was likely the end of his time with us.

He was a loyal, loving companion.  He turned 13 years old in December.  He had a long and good life.

We will miss him!

October

It's been a rough month.  There have been several young deaths in our community. I know two of the families of the young men that died. It's just heartbreaking that this has happened. As parents, we need to be involved in our kids lives, to know where they are and what they are doing. Who their friends are etc. We need to keep the lines of communication open with our young people. At any age. At all ages. We need to pay attention, even if the child is not yours.

I'm currently taking a Statistics class, that I am not doing very well in. It's very humbling to not excel at a class. I received a mid-term e mail from my professor. While I am currently passing the class (barely), I am not confident that I can actually pass the class. I just don't understand the concepts of Statistics. If possible, it is even worse than last semesters Algebra class. I have chosen to with draw from the class. I feel like a loser for doing this, but, I don't think I can pass the class and the last seven weeks have been very stressful for me. Give me a biology, or microbiology class any day and I will get an A in that class! My mind is just not geared for Stats it seems.

On the other hand, my daughter is doing well with her job and life. She seems happy with what she is doing and since she moved back to Minnesota, we all see her more.

My little guy is doing well too. He just finished selling popcorn for boy scouts and did very well! He is still liking school too, which is always good.

My mom is doing very well too. She says her place finally feels like home now. And she has her pictures hung up now! I know that can make a huge difference. She is also getting new counter tops in her kitchen. She is happy about that too.

We'll all make it through the rough times, and be all the stronger for it.

Psalm 118:24
This is the day that the Lord has made;
    let us rejoice and be glad in it.

A birth and a death

September 11th is a significant day for many many reasons. I have a friend who has a birthday on this day.

Another friend gave birth to her third child just this year on this day. A beautiful baby girl!! Named Hannah.

Another woman I know died on this day this year. I originally wrote about her HERE.

She didn't even make it a year. It is so very sad. Her name is Vaike and she leaves behind a devoted husband and two very young children. The children are just four and barely two years old. A boy and a girl.

Vaike had colon cancer that everyone thought was caught in time. Sadly it was not. Vaike went through lots of treatments throughout the almost year she was diagnosed. She didn't even make it a year. She and her family were at least hoping for the 5 year plan.

There are a lot of people that are saddened by her passing.

She is a woman that won't be forgotten by many.

Please pray for peace and comfort for her family. They will need it to get through the next few days, months and years.

Psalm 103:8, King James Version

The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.

A friend, a baby and a wake....

Today I went to the wake of an eight month old baby. It was absolutely heartbreaking. I have been to many wakes and funerals but never in my life has one touched me as much as this one. It took my breath away.

My friend Diane, whom I have known for 28 years had to bury her grandchild today. She and her husband are broken people.

You see, eight years ago they lost their daughter. She was hit by a car and killed. She was 25 years old. Today she buried her eight month old Grandson.

How in the world do you make it through that?? HOW??

The worst part of it all aside from the death of this precious baby is that her very own son took the child's life, his very own baby. How do you reconcile THAT??

How do you go on loving a son that took the life of your grandson??

My heart aches for the whole family. The sibling, the mother, the uncles and aunts and grandparents. No parent should ever ever have to bury their own child.

And there is not one thing anyone can say that will make any of this better.

They are strong in their faith but my heart just aches for them.

I just pray for peace and comfort for them all. For God to just wrap them all in his arms and comfort them all.

Like her husband said, "it's a tough tough day."

Can you even imagine???

Matthew 19:14 (New International Version)

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."