twin falls visit

so last time that i posted was letting you know about my grandfathers death. this post is all about the time we spent in twin before, during and after grandpa's service. these first pics are of sulli with his "frog hunting" light. he and his nana and papa went hunting for frogs along the ditch bank at night. he had a great time.

may 15th, the day before my dad's 60th birthday, we through a surprise birthday party for him. thought that doing it the day before all of the extended family arrived might be a bit less stressful for dad. he had no idea why his friends kept showing up saying "happy birthday". he finally looked at me and i winked. he then knew what was going on. sulli was right there to help papa blow out his candles. mom was in the kitchen with her girlfriends sue and dar. what great women.

sulli played around in a fire truck that i played in as a child. my dad found it for me at a garage sale when i was young. he hung on to it...such a great memory! the close up of sulli is evidence of his first big digger. we took a walk down to the falls with my sister, her boyfriend and some cousins. sulli found some cool obsidian rocks and had put them in his pocket. he had both hands in his pockets playing with his rocks when he fell. with no hands to catch his fall, his chin did the work. poor kid was such a trooper. good war wounds to show though.

sulli is looking at the great scenery with his uncle carey (sister laurie's boyfriend) whom he adores. pretty cute. he was previously known as uncle "terry" since sulli couldn't say his "k" sound. but now that he has mastered the "k", carey it is. the falls were running beautifully. glad that we were able to see them going. laurie and carey look good with kids, don't you think??? first things first though...let's not get ahead of ourselves!

on may 16th, my dad's actual 60th birthday, we celebrated yet again. notice that sulli is always willing to help out with the candle blowing. too cute! and the last picture is of my cute boys, all asleep. so sweet!

the service for grandpa was on may 17th. it all went very well. i told my mom that i would gladly sing as long as i didn't have to follow my dad. i knew that i would have a hard time with composure after listening to my dad talk about his dad. i was assured that i wouldn't have to follow dad. well, just before the service began, the pastor went through the order with us, letting me know that my cue to go sing was when my dad was finished. what??? well, sure enough, my dad said some amazing things about grandpa. he ended with the fact that 33 years ago, he was faced with the decision of who he would have standing up next to him as his best man at his wedding. he said that this was not a difficult decision, as his dad was his best friend. and that after 33 years, he is still his best man. whoa! what a statement about your dad. i told the congregation that i needed some time to compose myself. after i took that time, i sang the same song that i sang at grandma's service "amazing grace/my chains are gone". i just love this song and what the chorus says:

my chains are gone, i've been set free
my God my Saviour has ransomed me
and like a flood His mercy rains
unending love, amazing grace

so true...He has set us free. and how fortunate we are that His mercy continually rains down on us as we are not worthy of anything. if we only lean on Him, give ourselves over to Him and admit that we cannot do it on our own, He will lead us through all that life brings our way. that is a huge comfort for me. it was also wonderful singing this song for grandpa who, at the end of his life, was bound by the chains of sickness, weakness, and confusion. on that day, i could sing that song knowing that those chains were gone and that he indeed had been set free. wow! chills again! i made it through almost the entire song...lost it on the last line. but that's ok, it was for grandpa.

overall a great time seeing extended family, celebrating a milestone birthday with my dad, and celebrating the life of a wonderful man.