What a month!

Rest in Peace Grandpa

Wowzers! The last couple of weeks have been a roller coaster of events.

Went back into the hospital with mom in law. It was scary, we actually lost her for a couple of minutes this time. A week in ICU and for the most part, should last another 10,000 miles ^.^.

The kids all got sick in the same week. That was a lot of snot! And the tissue we went through was pretty amazing. And after refusing to catch it, I got it. Still have it. May have to go to the doctor and get something for a sinus infection. I'll see if I can squeeze it in ^.^!

Then we had another Speech and Debate Qualifier. This time it was in good weather and more local. What a great time we had! The entire college campus we used was on a hill and therefor, lots of steps. Lots and lots of steps. I knew my thighs would be sore, but I didn't count on my calves and the tops of my feet. The kids did well, we kept getting lots of compliments on how well they spoke and how poised they were. We didn't move on though, so we are done for the season. One of our team mates made it though. Pretty good for a first year team. I think my favorite part was watching the kids in their suits and dresses spontaneously start dancing. One of the girls is a square dancer and started teaching some of her friends. Pretty soon there were 50 kids dancing and a few of the kids pulled out instruments and started to accompany. It was fun watching them try to figure out a song when none had played together before and some never played that genera of music. But they did it and it was beautiful. It was so refreshing to see wholesome fun. My Sarah had such fun dancing again after so long without because of her ankle injury. A blessing for sure to see her shining face.

While we were there, we got a call that mom-in-law was back in the hospital. Her chest was hurting and she was pretty grumpy. After CPR, that is pretty common, but we found out the concern is internal bleeding. You see, because they had to put a stint in, she is on a blood thinner. Because of that, the places she is bruised from the CPR is still bleeding a bit. So they kept her over the weekend. We find out today if she comes home. She has a hard time making blood because of the kidney failure so there are a lot of variables.

Then ... as we were recovering from sleep deprivation... I get a call from my mom that my grandpa has died. We were expecting it. For the last two weeks he has been on his death bed at the hospital. The dear soul was in his mid nineties. I'm not as close to my mom's side of the family, but I do have some fond memories of Grandpa. I grew up as an Army Brat and my grandparents often came to visit us. When we lived in Hawaii, I remember him asking if we thought they would take American money in a local little store. He liked eating at bufets, no that's not a mis spelling, that's how he said it. And ja lap en os. We still call them both by his pronunciations at our house. He was a farmer. A big man who worked hard and raised seven kids. He was married to the same woman his entire life. I can't even imagine the depth of her bereavement. He was the head of his family and clan . He and his brothers had a group of farms. in the same small town in Kansas. Our family history goes back a long way, I just started to learn about it at my uncles funeral a few short months ago. I got to spend a few weeks at the farm when I was 10 0r 12. Although I don't remember how old I was, I do remember how fun it was and how much I learned. I will really miss my grandpa.

The hardest part about losing my grandpa right now is that I can't go back and be there for my mom. This is obviously very hard for her. She has been there for two weeks and just extended for another week. Because of our obligations here and the price of tickets being so high, I just can't go. That makes me really sad. I praise God that our business is growing in leaps and bounds and that money and time won't always be an issue. But right now I'm still sad.

So I start my week with my list of things to do. Need to get mom in law home. Need to get my kids schooling back on track. Lessons and classes to attend. Meetings to set up and business to start. And passover cleaning. And that most evil thing in my life. TAXES. Shiver, shiver, scowl. Oh yeah, and make a doctors appointment for myself somewhere along the line.