Circle of Life

I can't begin to express the many emotions I feel. In less than 48 (39) hours we experienced the full circle of life...

We are so grateful for the calming

infuence and love of our Heavenly Father.

We were able to rejoice with my sister, her new husband Steve,

 many family and friends -143 to be exact, on Saturday evening for their wedding in our back yard.

We got to welcome little Carston into the world when Taylor went into labor the morning after her mom's  wedding.

Both Mommy and baby son are doing beautifully.

Then we spent most of Sunday, Father's Day with dad as he seemed to be slipping away  from us. We received  a phone call on Saturday afternoon letting us know he was not responsive.  We left our guests who setting up for the wedding and were able to bring him out of his funk...so we thought. We returned home to take care of the wedding.
That night Dad got worst. Early Father's day morning Mr B slipped out early to be with his dad. The last communication with dad took place when he bent down close to his dad and said , "Happy Father's Day, I love you." Dad extended his right hand slightly as if to shake his hand.
 Later that morning two of our son's and my precious Mr B gave him a blessing.  They later returned to their own homes in Idaho and Colorado on Sunday evening.

And then early Monday afternoon, we said GOOD BYE in this life to my sweet beloved Father in law, while I held and loved him in my arms while he passed away.
Mr B made it just in time for his dad's last breath. What an emotional time...

 I am so glad our daughter and her 2 youngest children could spend some time with me and grandpa in the morning, I could tell our little guy could feel something serious was happening. Maggie was just plain cute. She thought I was feeding grandpa a sucker when I would moisten his mouth to make him more comfortable. So I used a clean pink sponge swab with clean water to moisten Maggie's mouth. At first she made a silly face, but then giggled.  She soon lost interest in the tasteless pink sponge. :)  When they left Maggie kept calling back to dad, "Bye Papa, Bye Papa! Wuv oo!" It brought tears to my eyes.

 Also my dear sweet friend Connie, who's own husband recently passed away in March, came to be my moral  support.   Soon after Natalie and Connie left, Dad started to decline rapidly.  None of us knew he would go so fast.

Our nephew Nathan arrived with his wife to see grandpa and they were with me the last minutes of his life  along with a sweet hospice chaplain, Michelle.

(Our cute dil Jamie, son Kevin along with Nathan and Jennifer) Last July, Dad danced at their wedding and enjoyed the music so much we couldn't get him to even hold still for the pictures! A sweet memory tonight.

I will forever be a changed person being so close and involved with a loved one as they passed from this life to the next.

We each had an choice spiritual experience. There is no doubt in my mind there is life after death.  I know there were loved ones in his room who came to get dad after he left his mortal body. They have been there all weekend. It truly helps to know he is happy. 
Dad is at the mortuary where this beautiful statue is, showing a worn out lady reluctantly leaving her loved ones behind as she passes through the veil of death into the arms of the Savior. What a comfort this visual reminder was to me when I walked into the mortuary yesterday.

Dad blessed so many lives through his wonderful example. There were many in the senior living where he lived who had a story to tell us, most were of the spiritual nature. Not only was dad very out going, but wore his love of our Savior so close to his heart.  He shared this love with everyone he met. The activities director gave me a huge hug and said , "What a lovely, lovely, lovely man! A true gentleman." With tears in her eyes she let me know he was going to be so, so missed.

These  are photos of  'Great Papa' and our daughter's children the week prior to his death.

He always delighted in their antics

This last picture is little Sam as he placed his young hand on Grandpa's worn hand. It was almost as if the kids could sense this would be their last time to tell him good bye for now. They were very generous with their loves.

Our last wedding guests, my sister and her fun, fun daughters, left to go home to Seattle Tuesday night.

We even have the bride peeking though on the left at her new grandson.

Dad's four son's have each arrived in town for his funeral. One from Hawaii. Our children will start arriving back here tomorrow and even our oldest son in VA will be coming home for the first time in 3 years.  The funeral arrangements are finally finished.  His funeral will be Saturday and dad will be buried in Idaho. I want to thank each of you for all the wonderful comments you have left in the past concerning this very special man.

I hope to be living a normal life (if that is possible) and catch up with each of you soon. I have lots of wedding pictures to share:)

I know I have said it before and will say it again,
 Hold those you love close and never let an opportunity to go by without telling them you love them.  You NEVER KNOW!

Love, Beth