This is an email I sent out to my women's small group last night at about 11:03 - 10 minutes later I got the call that he passed away. I will miss him terribly but the truth is I was already missing him. Now he is at peace and is probably bugging God about what He wants done around the gardens!
Hi all, I know you've all heard me talk about my grandpa and have prayed for him from time to time. As you know, he is very special to me and I love being able to visit with him weekly. In mid-January we celebrated his 89th birthday. He was in the best of moods and was very happy to be around all of his family and a few friends.
Since then, we have watched his health and mental capacity deteriorate. He consistently gets frustrated by his lack of independence and his inability to speak or eat due to the mouth cancer surgery he had two years ago. The last two visits I had with him, he showed signs of great confusion. His doctor confirmed that he has developed dementia. He also has told us all that he wants to just give up.
On Saturday, he had a fall and fractured his hip. We took him to the hospital and he has since been admitted. A CT scan found a large aortic aneurysm. There is no guarantee that he would even make it through surgery nor would we want to put him through any more procedures. At this point, we are treasuring the time we have left with him be it days, weeks or longer.
I went by to visit him tonight. He was resting but I could tell he is very weak. He is not eating and we know he just wants to go Home to be with God. His doctor has asked the hospital to make him as comfortable as possible. My family is ready to say good-bye and we're happy for him to soon be free of pain and limitations.
For now, life goes on as usual - staying positive that God's timing is perfect.
It's strange, you know we've been talking about God's promptings and I know for a fact that in those promptings is discernment. When I visited my grandpa in December, I walked out of his room with a strong sense that he wouldn't last more than three more months. I know God prepared me for this reality so that I could be strong.
I have been blessed to call this man my Grandpa. I've often said I have the cutest Grandpa in the world! He's been a wonderful example of a loving husband, father and man of God to me. Thank you all for being there for me. I hope to see you all at bible study tomorrow night. If I don't make it, know that I'll be with you in spirit! :)
Krista
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The story about the door and the door
This is ironically funny now, but yesterday it was not so funny.
Background: My sister bought a nice internal door for our old rental and cut a hole in the bottom for the cats (a kitty door, if you will) so that she could close her door and the cats could roam in and out to visit the cat box. When we moved, she of course took the door with her but has decided not to use it in the new house because there is no need since we're keeping the cat box in the bathroom.
Yesterday, we were having our new stove delivered because the stove in the house was shot, the flirtatious and somewhat annoying delivery guy described it as "blown up". Well after deciding the stove wouldn't fit without some counter tops being cut into and the cabinets too, my dad and I thought it best to keep the stove in the garage and therefore, I opened the garage door. So delivery guy wanted to inspect the stove, realized it was damaged and loaded it back on his truck.
My dad and I chatted a bit then he said, well I'm going to head out so you'd better close the garage door. Ok dad :)
I pressed the button to close it and I heard the fateful 'CRUNCH!'. I pressed the button again to stop it but it was too late. From best we could tell, the bedroom door was standing upright close to the garage door. When the garage door went up, it must have made the bedroom door slip into its way.
I grabbed my camera to take pictures and dad grabbed a hammer and a ladder to try to fix it. Unfortunately, the damage was beyond what we could fix. Now, I wouldn't be so concerned but the garage door was stuck open, it would not close at all. Crap, all I need is for some of the local riff raff to steal things from my open garage. I got on the phone to call a garage door repair man. Luckily there was one available and he was over in about half an hour!
So, $400 bucks later the garage door is fixed, the controller is re-programmed and we have new remotes.
But most importantly, we got some great advice - always keep everything at least 1 and 1/2 feet away from the garage door and...make sure it's clear before you close it.
Background: My sister bought a nice internal door for our old rental and cut a hole in the bottom for the cats (a kitty door, if you will) so that she could close her door and the cats could roam in and out to visit the cat box. When we moved, she of course took the door with her but has decided not to use it in the new house because there is no need since we're keeping the cat box in the bathroom.
Yesterday, we were having our new stove delivered because the stove in the house was shot, the flirtatious and somewhat annoying delivery guy described it as "blown up". Well after deciding the stove wouldn't fit without some counter tops being cut into and the cabinets too, my dad and I thought it best to keep the stove in the garage and therefore, I opened the garage door. So delivery guy wanted to inspect the stove, realized it was damaged and loaded it back on his truck.
My dad and I chatted a bit then he said, well I'm going to head out so you'd better close the garage door. Ok dad :)
I pressed the button to close it and I heard the fateful 'CRUNCH!'. I pressed the button again to stop it but it was too late. From best we could tell, the bedroom door was standing upright close to the garage door. When the garage door went up, it must have made the bedroom door slip into its way.
I grabbed my camera to take pictures and dad grabbed a hammer and a ladder to try to fix it. Unfortunately, the damage was beyond what we could fix. Now, I wouldn't be so concerned but the garage door was stuck open, it would not close at all. Crap, all I need is for some of the local riff raff to steal things from my open garage. I got on the phone to call a garage door repair man. Luckily there was one available and he was over in about half an hour!
So, $400 bucks later the garage door is fixed, the controller is re-programmed and we have new remotes.
But most importantly, we got some great advice - always keep everything at least 1 and 1/2 feet away from the garage door and...make sure it's clear before you close it.
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