Our funny shot from today.....Bill & Ryan were both off this last week for Spring Break. While we just had two weeks away from here, it was not a vacation by any means. So, while we spent the last few weeks catching up, we decided we still needed some down time. While I was scheduled to have the whole week off, we decided it best to cancel that idea, and just have a few days off.
Mon-Wed, Bill & Ryan worked on wood (the shed is empty!), while I worked. Even Kristin helped some. She was excited that she is finally big enough to keep the tractor running, so she could drive the loaded trailer full of wood to the shed, dump it, and head back for another!
Bill got his grades, and being off two weeks did hurt them, but not as bad as he feared. He still ended up with 3 B's and 2 A's....not bad for 18 credits, and two weeks off the week before finals. It was tough catching up, but we are all very proud of him for a job well done! Ryan too, had a lot to catch up on, and although he has one class to complete some work in, the teacher is being kind enough to allow him another week or two, and will change his grade for the class. It was a lot of work to catch up on in a week. We'll keep you posted there!
I took off Thursday & Friday...making it a long weekend. Thursday, we pondered what to do...we wanted to go to Sisters, but the forecast was snowy....and the coast forecast was rainy, so we headed to the pass, and took a drive back toward Eugene. There are some pretty waterfalls there, that have some great hiking trails. What we didn't realize, was the altitude was higher than we thought and there was WAY too much snow to hike. We'd have been better fitted with snow shoes or ski's.
However, the drive was beautiful, and we did get out in the fresh air, and enjoy the sun, snow, rain & hail that we had!! We rounded out the day with a trip to Dickijoe's for burgers & dogs, to help support our friend Nate, as they were doing a fund raiser. We headed back home the long way, and took an old logging road from Marcola to Sweet Home! Once home, we finished up our puzzle we started the night before, and called it a day...a good day!!
Friday we slept in, got a few jobs done, worked on the taxes, and enjoyed a lazy day. We anticipated rain again on Saturday, and woke at 7 to rain, so rolled over, woke later to sunshine. We showered and headed off for the coast. While we got plenty of rain, we also had plenty of sunshine, some pretty rainbows, and a lot of fun. We hit some favorite spots, hit the outlets, and got an early anniversary gift from Bill...an awesome flash, that is mount, or stand alone for additional light...it's incredible!!
We rounded out the day with dinner at the Sea Hag, and headed for home, taking some nice sunset pictures on the way with some new filters I got a few weeks ago. FUN!! Got home around 9, played with the new flash...and am VERY pleased with the lighting....awesome. Thanks Bill!
Check out the pictures from today...and Thursday!
Today, March 3rd, 2011--we said goodbye to Bob. There were more people at the church than I could possibly count, but while working on the thank you notes, there must have been more than 200 people. It was amazing to see the support that the family had, and we are so grateful for those prayers, hugs, cards, calls, emails, and the "just being there". Bill & I are especially grateful for those friends of ours who made the time to come out and support us. It means so much to us.
We enjoyed visiting with so many that we haven't seen since our wedding. Friends of Bill's that he hasn't seen since since before we got married. It was a beautiful service with a nice message from an old friend, and a teaching/sermon from Mom's pastor who did an awesome job of pulling all of "Bob" into the message. After, we gathered in the fellowship hall to enjoy some of Bob's favorite desserts.
Once the service was over, we headed back to Bill's Mom's to have dinner with the immediate family that was in town. While the reason to be together was sad, the evening was enjoyed by all of this family, who are more like friends, and enjoyed our short time together. Beth (Bill's oldest sister) made Dad's favorite cheese fondue and everyone had a toast to Bob. It was a great evening, and an opportunity to visit with those who we don't get to see often.
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If anyone told me last Monday that we would be traveling through many states to get to Michigan quickly, I would have told them they were crazy.
On Monday, Presidents day, we got a call from Bill's sister saying we had better head home. Bill's dad had fallen on Friday night/Saturday AM, and broken his hip. He was scheduled for surgery, but due to his potassium levels due to kidney function, it was delayed. However, sometime during the night on Sunday, he had a heart attack, and things headed from bad to worse. We tried to get a flight in on Monday, or at least Bill out on Monday, and due to the weather in Michigan, we were unable to get a flight until Thursday. Bill could have gotten out Wednesday night, but we didn't figure we would gain much. Long story short, we found flights on Expedia, and arrived Tuesday night, after taking three planes, and two airlines.
We went straight to the hospital, and were able to see Bob. Long story short, things were not good. We had a family meeting the next day, and it seemed that things were going in a positive direction, so we held onto hope. Thursday, Bob was breathing on his own, and we really had hope. Unfortunately, on Thursday night, things turned, and he was back on the respirator on Friday morning. The doctor stated that she would pull him off all pain and sedation meds to see if they could get any response. Unfortunately, by late afternoon, there was still no response. Bob had been on continuous dialysis for 5 days, along with the heart only functioning at 50%, and the respirator, things were not moving in a positive direction. The Dr then suggested that we meet with the Palliative team and decide what to do next. Bob's patient advocate stated that he did not want life support unless it was short term, and there was hope for recovery. The palliative team informed us that they had tried all forms of treatment, and that he was not responding. Being that this was against his wishes to continue keeping him alive by machinery and medication, the family honored his wishes and had all the "stuff" removed. Pastor Dave was with us, and all of the family was there, and after a few short hours, he drifted quietly off to sleep, and was finally at peace. It has been a few tough days, but we are thankful that we are all together.
The last few days have been busy with planning for the service on Thursday. We spent Saturday at the funeral home and florist, and Sunday, we stayed home, going through pictures and paperwork. Bill & I found a great photo of Dad that none of us had seen. It speaks volumes of Bob's character and it is now a favorite of ours.
Monday, Kristin & I snuck to Ohio for a few hours to visit with my grandparents. It was three hours and a smidge down, and about 4 hours back with a dinner stop....all worth it. It was a surprise for Grams & Gramps...and we stopped to get flowers for Grams, as her birthday is Thursday. It was a nice day, and Kristin got to see her Big Papa. Ryan & Bill stayed here and worked on some things for Thursday. We were able to change our tickets to fly back to Oregon on Sunday, and are so thankful for Jenny who is watching the house and all the animals for us.
Today we did some cleaning...some running around, and then spent a nice evening with some life long friends of Bill's. It was a nice change, and the place we met in Ann Arbor was full of character, and great food!
I have also posted a few pictures..I guess it's not all been a drag. Ryan is tired of shoveling snow....we did get some REAL chili dogs, and cribbage has been played with Grandma.
Off to bed, a few things to do before Thursday....and hoping to sleep in tomorrow!
Thanks to all for your prayers, your cards, your calls, your e-mails and your face book messages...it means so much to us.
Our funny shot from today.....
However, the drive was beautiful, and we did get out in the fresh air, and enjoy the sun, snow, rain & hail that we had!! We rounded out the day with a trip to Dickijoe's for burgers & dogs, to help support our friend Nate, as they were doing a fund raiser. We headed back home the long way, and took an old logging road from Marcola to Sweet Home! Once home, we finished up our puzzle we started the night before, and called it a day...a good day!!
