A celebration of a life well lived

A phone call from my Dad two Friday mornings ago completely re-routed our week last week.
My Grandfather (my Dad's Father), unexpectedly passed away.  When I say unexpected, I just mean that he wasn't sick and in the hospital.
On January 11th he collapsed - his heart gave out, and he was gone.  We have all said that his death was merciful. There were no weeks of agony in a hospital, and it wasn't a slow, painful death.  Praise be to God.  Opa (that's what all of us grandchildren called him) was looking forward to going home to heaven. And rightfully so. He was 89 years old and those 89 years were well lived. 
Last Saturday, I packed a bag to head to Cleveland, MS and the next morning my parents and I headed off for Pennsylvannia.  
I've told people that I don't think I will forget spending my 25th birthday in the car on the way to Pennslyvannia for my grandfather's funeral.  That just sticks out in one's mind.  Also, I will always remember the date of his funeral (January 16th) because that was Casey's 25th birthday.  My extended family surprised me with chocolate cupcakes and two days later we sang Happy Birthday to Casey over the phone.  We both had good days, regardless of the circumstances. 
The funeral day was truly a celebration of his life.  The pastor did a wonderful job sorting out all of the memories the family had shared and presenting them during the service. 
My Opa left behind legacies revolving around faith, family, and community.  It was evident by all of the people who came to the visitation and or funeral. 
My Oma (his wife) is sad as is to be expected.  I was sharing with one of my friends about how difficult it is to see her alone.  She shared with me a paraphrased a quote she read in a book called The Disciplines of a Godly Woman.  Basically, it said, "When your husband dies your title changes.  You are known as a widow and not a wife, and that is a big identity change. However, we will never lose our titles of being daughers of Christ in life or death." That is true and I found it encouraging.  My friend is going to write down the exact quote, and when the time is right, I'll probably share it with my Oma in a letter.

Opa and Oma at our wedding on June 5th, 2010.

A New Year is Here

A fresh start is upon us - welcome 2013!

How was your holiday season?

Ours was pretty typical - rest and relaxation, family, and lots of holiday food.  We spent a couple of days before Christmas through a couple of days after Christmas with Casey's family in the Jackson, MS area.  It was nice to have a break from any major travels.  We enjoy traveling, but sometimes it's fun to stay close to home. 

Mmm hmmm.

Our sweet nephew had a blast tearing into his presents.

It is a good thing we came home when we did.  You see, our house/yard has drainage issues and it rained quite a good bit while we were gone, and when we got back.  Casey spent a very rainy Friday last week outside figuring out how our the gutter installation will work, what type of landscaping will help create waterflow moving away from our house, etc.  Also, I discovered our roof was leaking. Oh AND we burned a fuse while replacing a light fixture and half of our kitchen has been without power until today.

Casey's dad sent an electrician our way and he fixed every last problem we had electrically (more than just the kitchen!)  His dad is kindly taking care of the bill - big early happy birthday to us!

We found ourselves laughing over the weekend when problem after problem kept springing up.  We bought an old house and have only lived here for 6 months, hence it was only a matter of time to before some sort of house breakdowns occurred.  It's just part of it and we were told just that. Life goes on.

Case and I both returned to work today and are looking forward to settling into routine  again.  We thoroughly enjoyed our time off, but time off wouldn't be as enjoyable if we had it all the time.  I am glad however, that I still have two more weeks off from school.  I think I'll be mentally prepared to go back by then.

I packed up all things Christmas over the weekend. To me, it is kind of sad to take down the Christmas decorations because I like having them out, but at the same time I'm always so glad to have them packed up and put away. I realize that doesn't make much sense.

 Wishing all a very Happy New Year!

Christmas Happenings

Tis the season for:

 running the Jingle Bell Jog (5k)for Batson's Children's hospital - it's the second year in a row for us, so that makes it a tradition right? Next year, we're planning on participating in it again.

Decorating our tree - originally, it was a foot too tall.  That's what happens when you are experiencing your first Christmas in your new house - and when you don't measure your floor-to-ceiling span. 

We just knew we had 9 ft ceilings, until we tried to stand the tree up.  Good thing we have friendly neighbors with saws.

This year, we bought a Carolina Sapphire - its wonderful smell fills our house.  I love it.

Cinnamon roll making - Pioneer Woman's recipe. 

And homemade goodies from sweet, elderly neighbors.

But really, tis the season to remember Christ's birth into the world. Sometimes, there are so many Christmas distractions, events, and to-do lists, it is difficult to prepare our hearts for the real reason we celebrate. I know I struggle with it. Thankfully, we have been given a powerful reminder.

"All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel - which means, God is with us." 

Matthew 1:22-23