Sad Day

At around 4:45 pm, Candy received the news that her grandfather Malvis had passed away. We would like to thank everyone for their prayers and concerns during the past few weeks during his illness. I know that this is a sad time for her and family and we ask that you continue to lift them up especially her grandmother Mary. We know that Malvis is now standing in the presence of Almighty God and is no longer suffering.

Once again, thanks to all for your prayers and concern.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Well, it's finally here. This is the day that we have set aside to celebrate the birth of out Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I know that most kids (mine especially) are all caught up in the idea of receiving presents today. However, it is very important that we stress the fact that today is about God coming to earth as a baby so that years later, He would be crucified in the form of a man and then die and rise again on the third day so that we could obtain the greatest gift of all......SALVATION!! and we have done nothing to deserve it."It is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9.
So in the midst of everything, keep Christ as the center of CHRISTmas and have a very Merry Christmas.

Another Trip to the Hospital!

We got a call on Monday night that my grandfather had fallen out of his bed at the nursing home and had to be taken to the emergency room. When we got there we found out he had a broken nose, a fractured neck and a nasty gash in his eyebrow/forehead that required quite a few stitches.

My grandfather does not remember what he was trying to do (get up, roll over, etc) or how long he was on the floor before he was found, he just knows he is hurting.

My grandmother was very upset (of course) because they did not have any rails on his bed. Turns out, Wisconsin state law prohibits the use of bed rails in a nursing home unless they are medically required because they are a strangulation hazard. Since my grandfather cannot sit or stand or even lift his legs, we felt as though this was enough of a medical necessity, but he did not have them.

So, he is again in the hospital and they plan on moving him to a different nursing home tomorrow. Please continue to pray for my grandmother's strength and endurance during this time. She is really pushing herself more than she should and it is affecting her health.

On a lighter note, we are SO excited about the coming of Christmas. We are really looking forward to a time of celebration and family getting together. The kids are just excited about the presents : )

Lily's Surprise

Well, it's that time of year again. Time for the Christmas tree. If you know us, you know that the tree can be, well let's just say that the tree salesmen get a very nice bonus. Anyway, this year we decided to stick to a tiny nine footer. In order to put it in the right place, we had to move Lily's toybox out of the living room. Saturday night we set up the tree so that all the snow could melt off before we tried to string the lights (I hear electricity and water don't mix). Well, we set it up after the kids were already in bed.
Sunday morning Lily walked downstairs and realized that her toy box had been moved. The ensuing conversation went like this:

Lily: Dad, why is my toybox moved?

Me: I don't know. Let's go check and see.

She walks into the living room and sees this enormous (to her) tree standing where her toybox once was.

Lily: Whoah.......wooooowww! (Her hands get outstretched by her side) This is soooo coool!!

Of all the times not to have a video camera handy. Although she really knows that Christmas is truly about Jesus Christ, the look of sheer joy on her face during this time is so precious.

Finally...The Weekend

This was a pretty emotional week. The doctor's called my grandmother in on Tuesday to let her know that there is nothing else they can do for Papa. Although we already knew this, it was still very difficult for my grandmother to hear the actual words. We have been taking turns staying with her each night since then just to be sure she is not alone if that call comes during the night. I spent the entire day with her yesterday at the hospital. We were there about eight hours and Papa was awake a total of about an hour and was lucid about 15 minutes of that time. Other times he thinks he is at home or talks about the USS Bismark Sea (the ship he was on in WW2).

The saddest part of this week has been that my grandfather's only child from his first marriage (his first wife died about 18 months before he and my grandmother married almost 30 years ago)has really been causing problems. She is very upset that my grandmother has Power of Attorney for him and has accused my grandmother of forging his Living Will. There is a lot more, but it's not important to go into the details. Because of these things, the doctor had to be witness to Papa stating his wishes, yesterday. So, in the midst of everything, my grandmother had to ask him "If you go into full cardiac arrest, do you want to be revived? Do you want CPR?" His response was "No, no, please just let me go." It was so emotional (although we all held it in). After the doctor left, I got to watch my grandmother stroking his hair and telling him how much she loves him, how handsome he is, how blessed she is to be his wife and how she would give her life for his. It was precious and I will always thank God that I got to be a part of that moment.

We have been talking with Jake and Hannah to prepare them for what's coming. Their responses were so typical. Hannah was emotional and wanted to make sure that Papa was not in pain, was Grandieu ok, would she go to the funeral and what would she wear. Jake said "That really stinks. I will miss him". We did not intend to go into great detail with Lily...she's three. But she is a smart little thing and picks up on everything. Our conversation went something like this:

Lily: Is Papa going to die?

Me: Yes

Lily: But I want to play with him at his house.

Me: He won't be able to play anymore. He will be in heaven with Jesus. You can play with Grandieu.

Lily: Pleeeeease?

Me: Honey, he can't. He is too sick and Jesus needs to take him to heaven to make his body better so he won't be sick anymore.

Lily: But I said please!

Me: I know, but we can't always have what we want just by saying please. Besides, it's great to be in heaven because being with Jesus is the best place you could ever be.

Lily: Oh, ok. Then he can play with Jesus.

The next day Kermit was bringing her home from our friend's house. She said "dad, my Papa is going to die". Kermit was trying to comfort her and was in the middle of saying something fatherly like "I know, it will be sad, you will be ok, we will miss him..." when Lily interrupted and said "Oh look, dad, Christmas trees! I want presents!". Oh to be three!

Please continue to pray for our family. We are prepared for whatver is to come, whether God chooses to heal Papa here on earth or perfectly in heaven. But we need to know how to deal with the issues that are arising with his daughter and how to honor God at the same time.

By the way, Candy forgot to mention the FUN event of the week. Just imagine, if you will, going to bed around eleven at night on Thursday night and the waking up about four on Friday morning with about twelve (12)inches, yes one FOOT, of snow on the ground. Talk about a wake up call. Kermit woke up to the sound of the snow plow going by (kids slept right through it though). The morning commute was just PEACHY (lol). Driving a truck for work was even better and the kids were REALLY saddened by the fact that they had to miss school. Hannah truly was. But, by Saturday morning, the roads were clear.