Events This Past Week

Chad just informed me that it has been a while since my last blog... the truth is not much has been happening. My sister came up from Utah for my grandma's funeral and brought two of her kids Gavin and Kambria (Brynlee & Brian we missed you!). They just left today and I am so sad! I spent the week in Ephrata with her and other her family members in and out the entire week. I was able to spend time with some cousins that I have not seen in quite some time. That part was great despite the fact that I was missing my little hubby! He worked all week (and was very successful in getting some good accounts all week - Good job babe!) while I played with my family.

My grandma's funeral was very nice. My cousin Wendy called me the day before and asked me to sing with her for the service since we both grew up with a great interest in music and singing. We practiced and things were sounding pretty good even while singing through a nasty cold... I was feeling pretty confident. We got up for our special musical number "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" and I couldn't even get through my first verse (SORRY WENDY) My voice immediately began to quiver and I'd let out a sob even stopping completely at times. The runny nose that comes with a nasty cold didn't help my situation any either. Ugh... Sorry grandma, I thought I could get through it for you. Anyway we snapped a few photos after the service at the little dinner that we had out at my uncle Glenn's home and at the graveside.

All in all it was a pretty decent week just not a whole lot to blog about.

PS. Dawson has been taking a few steps at a time for the past couple weeks but today he took six steps while trying to grab a snack from his Grandpa Dan... Dan and I were the only witnesses since then he has been taking a few steps here and there but so far six is the record.

A Farewell Letter...

Yesterday you fell and broke your hip... this was only the latest incident of many in the past few years. You were taken to the hospital and the WONDERFUL Dr. Dan Canfield operated on you with the knowledge that there were many risks with your heart and kidneys but taking the risk anyway knowing that there was really no other option. You made it through the surgery just fine and woke up this morning just as feisty as ever. The hospital staff took some vitals and did some testing and found that your heart and kidneys were only getting worse and that your body was slowly shutting itself down. The doctors informed us that at most you had 2-3 days.

I was fortunate to have been able to spend some time with you yesterday. As Dawson and I sat there next to your bed before surgery you kept saying how "beautiful his big brown eyes" were and "where had his hair gone?..." and you played some patty cake with him... he brightened up your not so happy day and I believe that he enjoyed it just as much as you did.

Today was a different story altogether. I woke up to a story that things had gone well and that you were back to your ornery self and that you had even recognized my dad when he first walked into the room stating that he was your youngest son to the nurse. Which was a good thing since your mind has been unclear for some time now. I later received a phone call from my mother to inform me that doctors were giving you at most a few more days. I decided that I would drop Dawson off at Lisa's house (THANKS LISA BTW!) and head over thinking that this may be my last chance to see you. It was a good thing I did... I met you at the hospital at 4pm sat there and cried for a bit watching you struggle to breathe. The nurse came in and checked your vitals they couldn't even find a blood pressure and your 2-3 days instantly turned into hours. At that moment I couldn't help but get up and walk over to grab your hand I couldn't convince myself to get up even for a little snack. As much as Aletha wanted to be there she couldn't so I brought a letter from her to read to you... you wouldn't wake up so I decided to read it to you anyway but couldn't get through it so my dad took it and slowly through broken words started and finished what I could not. I held your hand until the end (8:15pm) and even longer still... it was so difficult to let it go. I ran my fingers through your hair and gave you a kiss on the forehead. You were no longer there, the color of your skin told me that. I said I loved you and slowly left the room thinking that you must be having a wonderful reunion with your husband that you lost so long ago. I know you are happy now and you will always be remembered as a wonderful grandmother. I LOVE YOU GRANDMA!!

I LOVE To Blow In His Face...

...and this is why... Each time I blow in Dawson's face I get the cutest toothy smile with tightly closed eyes. I learned at a family reunion a few years ago that if you blow into a baby's face it makes them take in a deep breath so that you can dunk them into the water. So when I started trying that with Dawson I got the cutest reaction... I know it may sound a little mean but we do this all of the time just because it's so dang cute!

We Have A Little Dancer

Dawson has loved music from the very beginning and it seems like he started dancing really early I cannot remember exactly when but he has had a little evolution of dance styles... this one is the latest! When he sees the camera he gets a bit shy. You should see him go crazy. I often turn on music for him and just let him go for it so that I can get a few things done around the house but really it's just so cute that I really don't get anything done because I am so distracted by his cute little moves. The other day he was holding on to the entertainment center and started shaking his head back and forth with so much force that it literally knocked him over on the floor and he bonked his head pretty good and fussed for just a second and got back up and started dancing again... this kid has a passion for dancing!

Matt & Hanna's Wedding

Cool street sign Dawson Street but quite possibly the funniest part of this picture is Dawson's face and the fact that he's pointing at the camera like a stud you'll have to blow it up to see the detail HAHA I laughed so hard when I first saw that and still laugh every time I think about it!

Chad's friend's from high school (above L to R: Zach, Vicky, Tanner, Dawson, Chad, me, Holly) BTW we just found out that Holly is getting married in January AHH!!! So Exciting!! Congrats Hollah! The newly married Matt & Hanna Coffman (below)

Matt Coffman is a long time bestie of Chad's and he married the most perfect girl for him in the entire world this last weekend. Matt played college football and Hanna played college basketball both at CWU which is where they met. They are both super athletic and both have an amazing sense of humor. Anyway so Matt asked Chad to be in his wedding which Chad was happy and honored to do. So we made the 2.5 hour trip to Pateros last Friday morning and decided that we really love Pateros even though neither of us had really heard of it before. It is so beautiful! Hanna's family lives right on the river which is where they had the wedding. It was a very fun wedding they even had the DJ announce the wedding party like an announcer would a game... and the guys all did a little "chest bump" or "special handshake" with the groom it was so neat. Everything was so perfect besides the 107 degree heat. Anyway we really enjoyed our time there and we are very excited for the new married couple. Congrats M&H!