My PaPa

Last week was rough for my family.  My mom's dad was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer 3 months ago and passed away last past Friday.  While we all knew his condition was terminal, is it really ever possible to prepare yourself for something like this?  This was the first death we've experienced in our immediate family.  It was actually the first burial site service I had ever been to.  It was so tough to watch my mom and her siblings bury their father.  When I began to think about how I would feel in that situation I would turn to Chris and just quietly tell him "you'll have to put me in a hospital, 'cause I don't think I could go through this."  I hurt for my mother and was sad that my children will really never remember my Papa.  And boy did he love my children!  In the past couple of months I made a concerted effort to take the kids over to see him often.  He had a stash of gummy treats next to his bed.  The twins quickly discovered them and thought they had hit the jackpot.  Just 3 days before he died he sent my grandmother out to buy more gummy treats for the girls.

My PaPa was a military veteran and served his country proudly.  He loved to talk about the "good 'ole days" and show us pictures of all his buddies.  When I was in high school, my family lived with him for 6 months in between moves.  My brother and I were typical high school kids and complained about having to be so far away from all our friends, but looking back on that time now, I'm so glad we got times like that with our Papa.  He was so deeply loved, and he will definitely be missed.

I mentioned earlier that he had sent my grandma out to get treats for the girls.  I need to back up and explain that a little bit.  You see, my grandparents had been divorced for over 30 years (and their names are Mary and Joseph - we've always laughed about the irony of that!).  Like most divorces, it was laced with sadness, bitterness and hurt feelings.  Since they both lived here in Houston, they would often be together at my mom's house.  I won't lie, it was tough.  They knew exactly how to push one another's buttons, and they were good at it.  But in August, when Papa was diagnosed, things began to change.  Don't get me wrong, the hurt feelings were still there, but my grandma saw past all of that.

She has lived with my parents for over 15 years, but in the following weeks of Papa's diagnosis she packed up her bags and moved in with him.

Yep, she did.  Just like that.  She moved back into the house that she lived in with the man that she divorced.  And she took care of him every single day.  For 3 straight months.  I can't imagine how she did it.  But I know why she did.  Because my grandma understands true grace.  And she lived it out.  I will never forget that about her.  She is an incredible woman.

The days since my grandpa's passing have been hard for everyone.  But I can imagine that is to be expected.  So, instead of remembering the sad times, I thought I'd share a few pictures of the happy ones.

Last Christmas:

My mom with her brother, sister, and parents. (Papa is on the left, Grandma on the right)

 A week and a half before Papa died.

He loved having the kids over to visit.

 And believe it or not, they were so well behaved over there.

 I can't imagine how sick he was feeling, but you couldn't tell in this picture.  These kids made him smile so much!

 Carleigh decided to lay down next to Cami.

 Such sweet memories.

 I'm so thankful he got to meet my kids and know them.