Granddaddy's last days

This is not a "happy" post, but I felt like sharing it today. It is reality and not everything in this life is "happy"...

Cancer is the dreaded word that no family wants to hear. I remember when we first heard it about Granddaddy. He had lymphoma first. And he beat it! He was later diagnosed with lung cancer. That was definitely not something any of us wanted to hear. But, he beat it! The first time. Granddaddy was a smoker part of his life. I guess that was the cool thing to do. But, he quit when he found out he had cancer. The lung cancer still returned...

 There are certain things in my life that are ingrained in my memory and I will never forget. One of those is when we found out that Granddaddy's cancer was back. He had been sick and Nana and I took him to the emergency room at Hartselle Hospital. He was having a hard time catching his breath. Of course all of the family came and we were all concerned because he was so sick. At first his Dr. thought it was pneumonia. After he had x-rays Doc told Nana that he thought it looked bad and that his cancer could be back. He sent him to Huntsville Hospital to have more tests run and find out exactly what was going on. This is another day I will not forget. Nana still had her corded phone that hung on the wall in the kitchen all my life. She got the call and the look on her face told me it was bad. Very bad. His cancer had returned. I have only seen Nana cry a handful of times in my life and this was one of them. There would be no treatment. Granddaddy came home with hospice. The doctor gave him 6 months.

Nana stood by Granddaddy's side in sickness and in health. They would have celebrated 62 years of marriage this year. They were my example. My precious Granddaddy one of the best men I have ever known. He loved the Lord and he gave of himself always. He served our country, the church, his family, and those in need. He worked hard and loved Nana. He was such a good man. He was a father to me when my own was not there. And I am so thankful for that.

He only lived one month after he left the hospital. He was on oxygen and in so much pain. Everyday our family would be there. His children and grandchildren. We spent those last days being together as a family. Nana and Granddaddy's house was full! We sat on his bed with him and talked. I remember one day my sisters and I were being silly, asking him lots of questions, and I asked him what Nana was to him, he looked at her and said she was his angel. What a precious picture of their love for each other. Neither of them were ever very emotional or open about their relationship. It was a huge deal when I saw them kiss! But this meant so much to me and still does.

The last few days were tough. He was ready. He was ready to be with Jesus and we knew it would be soon. It was my very first day of school, I was a junior in high school. My uncle and mother had stayed in his room and were there when I left. I went to say goodbye. He was awake when I left and I told him I loved him. He told me he loved me. And that was the last time I talked to him.

Just a few hours later, I was sitting in chapel at school and my principal brought a note in and I knew then that it was Granddaddy. I met my mother at the office and we went straight home. The school was only a few minutes away, we pulled in the driveway and my uncle gave us the news. He was gone. What a bittersweet day. Our hearts were broken because he was gone from this world, away from us. But praise Jesus he was not in pain anymore. He was well! The following days were hard. We all still miss him.

Granddaddy's favorite song was Jesus Loves Me. All I have left are memories like this of this precious man. I can pass those along to my kids. Details of his life that made him who he was. They will know what a great man he was. He was a father to me. I loved him and look forward to seeing him again one day! And every time we sing Jesus Loves Me, I think of him and his love for Jesus and remind my boys of that love.

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What was suppose to be a quick trip....

Baylor could care less about the potty. He prefers his diaper (too busy to go to the potty)! Ugh! It can definitely be frustrating.

The other day, I took him with me to Joann's Fabric store. It was suppose to be a quick trip. Time for just the two of us to spend together without his brothers. Well, I did not take a diaper bag because I knew it was going to be quick! or at least I thought it was. As soon as we got in the store Baylor had to poop! Knowing I only had the diaper that he was wearing, I rushed him to the bathroom. I won't go into detail, but we 'partially' made it. I ended up throwing the diaper away anyway. So, he was just wearing a pair of cotton shorts, no underwear, and no diaper. I needed to get the fabric I had driven all the way into Huntsville to get. We were in the back of the store and I repeated myself probably twenty times."Don't pee in your pants!" While I was trying to make my fabric choice, I looked over and saw my little stinker with a yellow puddle in the floor! In Joanns!! On his shoes! Wet shorts! "I just peed Mama".....Really?!

Honestly, my first instinct was to be angry, but then I realized the humor of it all and all I could do was laugh!! Being a mother is tougher some days than others, and it's either laugh or cry! Kids keep life interesting:)

And btw, I cleaned up the pee!

I love these people!

These are my most favorite people in all of the world:) This was taken at the World of Coke in Atlanta. We will not take the boys back there again for a long time! We paid to get in and immediately the kids were whining and complaining! "I'm hungry.", "I don't want to go in there.", "That movie scares us.", "I'm starving to death.", " When can we eat?" [they are like their father when it comes to food :)].

My 'personal assistant' was with us and it was still a tough time! I highly suggest that if you are a mother reading this to find a teenager that loves kids and have her help you! I am so blessed and thankful for my teenage assistant! She goes lots of places with us and helps with the kids and it is a HUGE blessing! And she gets to go fun places , like Atlanta and to the World of Coke! Pretty sweet trade off for a teenager! The best part is that she loves my kids and I trust her!

Anyway, the WOC is not the best choice of places to go with small children. They were bored and ready to go after we walked in the door! They did decide that they6 liked the movie once we sat down to watch. And the highlight was tasting the cokes, they do not normally get coke (unless they are with Papaw), so it was a treat!

Next time we are in Atlanta, we will go to the aquarium!

Canned chicken recipe #3!

Chicken and Rice Casserole:

1 1/3 c. Minute rice
1 3/4 c. water
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 large can of chicken(drain and rinse)
1/2 c.grated cheddar cheese (I use more)
1 (8oz) can peas and carrots-drained
 salt and pepper to taste

Spray a 1 1/2 qt casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.Place minute rice (uncooked) in the dish. In a saucepan, mix soup and water, salt, pepper, peas and carrots together. Break chunks of chicken up and add to saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Pour mixture over rice and mix together. Sprinkle cheese on top. Cover and bake at 350 for 25 min.

Canned chicken recipe #2!

Here is another great recipe that you can use canned chicken with! Btw, I always drain and rinse my chicken.

Chicken casserole:

1 large can of chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 c. sour cream
sleeve of Ritz crackers(crushed)
1 stick of butter
optional: salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a square casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Empty chicken into the dish and break up the large pieces, spread evenly over bottom. Mix soup and sour cream together and put on top of the chicken. Melt butter and mix with the crushed Ritz crackers. Spread evenly over the top and bake until bubbly. Approx 30 minutes

Nana

Some of you know my Nana. Nana had her first experience at P.F.Chang's last night. First of all you must know that Nana does not get out much. You basically have to force her to go places, but once she gets there she is glad she went.

Last night Nana, Mother, Nikki, Lauren and I all went to P.F.s. On our way there Nana informs us she only has ten dollars! Ummm, Nana it is going to be more than $10! You obviously have not been out much lately. That might cover the tip these days. Nana said, "I don't know anyone that gets tipped that much, I may be in the back washing dishes!"

We had reservations but we were there a few minutes early (yes, I was actually early!). We sat outside while we were waiting for our pager to go off. Nana asked, "what is that thing in your hand?" She was asking about the pager. Nana, this is what the restaurant uses to tell you that your table is ready. Her response, "Well I have never seen one of those!" Nana, really you have got to get out more!

We sit down for dinner and she opens the menu. After reading the price of an entree-she gasped! What is this place?! Apparently she has not been out in a LONG time!

After tasting a lettuce wrap she decided it was not very good but had a second:) Then she actually enjoyed the food! Of course when we left she was glad she had come and even tipped the guy her ten dollars!!!

I love this woman! I wish everyone could meet her :) She is precious, funny, brutally honest, giving, loving. She is truly a blessing in my life and I am so thankful for her. 

Call the Company!

Ever buy a product and the packaging says, "do not return to store"? Btw I know packaging does not actually speak, but you get the point. There is a reason the package has that written on it. The company does NOT want you to return it to the store, they want you to call them. They will take care of it! (If not, I probably would not use them again.)

I have had bad experiences at Restaurants and called to let the manager know. They always want to be sure the customer is happy. The way I feel about it is if they are providing a service or a product they want the customer to be satisfied, and they want to know if not. And if I am paying for something I want to be sure I get my money out of it. So, I let them know.

For instance, I have called about lots of things. I bought Nature's Own bread from Sam's, Opened it at home and it was smelly and stale. Instead of driving back to Sam's and wasting gas, I simply called the number on the bread bag. The next day I had 2 new loaves delivered to my door from the manager at Nature's Own and he brought coupons! Nature's Own is great!

Some products have a warranty on them for a few months. Most recently I had to call about our trampoline. We have only had it since May and the safety net is tearing at  the top. Well, I pulled out the book and it has a 90 day warranty for the net! I called, they took my information, I have to scan and email the receipt and they will be mailing a new net very soon.

Companies want you to be happy with their products. Call them! Don't take advantage. Be honest. If you have a problem, they will take care of it!