Grandpa went to Heaven on Friday, the 16th.  I was sad that we did not get an opportunity to see him one last time.  However, I did call and talk with him on Thursday night so I know that he knows I love him dearly.  :-)  I have lost loved ones in the past but for some reason it seems a little different this time.  It's a strange feeling knowing that I will never see him again, at least here on earth.  I miss him already. 

We packed up the "new" van on Saturday and headed up to Cincinnati.  We means Libby, Caroline, Kelsey, Lindsay, Mom, Mark and Me - whew!  We did our best to honor Grandpa but I will say it was kind of hard with 3 little ones in tow!  Thankfully, the littlest one slept the entire way up and back.  She was perfect!

The two big girls, were angels on the trip as well.  Thye just required a little more attention on the drive.  I have a feeling the next time we say we are taking a trip they both may protest!






Sunday afternoon there was a visitation at the church and then the service.  I was so thankful for the pastor, Dave Dayton.  He was a dear friend of Grandpa's and did a wonderful job talking about the change that had occurred in Grandpa's life because of Christ.  It was really neat for me to hear a sort of timeline and put his life in perspective.  Grandpa did not become a Christian until he was 50!

On Monday morning we went to the cemetary for the burial.  It was really neat to visit there because most of the Schoellman family is buried there.  Grandma and Grandpa already have their headstone.

After the service we went to my aunt and uncle's house for lunch and the girls made friends with their second cousins. 



I always enjoy catching up with family.  However, that little saying about "the good, the bad and the ugly" often rings true.  We have a little bit of each in our family, as most do.  One silly example is of my Dad's cousin, Ernie. He is known as "the barefooted one" because he goes everywhere with bare feet.  He wore shoes to the service on Sunday and my mom asked if he was honoring Grandpa and he said, "No.  I'm honoring God on the Lord's Day."  Sure enough on Monday he came to the burial service with bare feet!! 

I think I'm going to have to nickname Caroline "Ernie" because this is often how she ends up in the car!



We spent A LOT of time in the car driving up there and around town getting to places.  Thankfully, the girls had a little time to play.  

They are two peas in a pod...

 

although we did hear our fair share of "mine" throughout the trip.  I also would not recommend 2 two year olds sleeping in the same bed in a small hotel room.  Mom ended up sleeping with Caroline, Lindsay slept with Kelsey and I got Libby Lee. 

Thankfully, we survived the trip and were able to say goodbye to Grandpa. 

September 11

I haven't been able to read the news on the internet this week without seeing article after article mentioning the 10th anniversary of the attacks on Sept 11th.  It's made me reflect on how much my life and the world around me has changed in these ten years.

Just like everyone else, I remember exactly where I was when the attacks happened.  I was in my first semester of nursing school at Emory University.  The nursing building was brand new at the time and equipped with all of the latest technological gadgets in each lecture room.  As I walked down the hall that morning I noticed a small group of students and a couple professors standing in one of the lecture rooms watching the screen on the front wall of a lecture hall.  I walked in and saw a huge picture of the first tower smoking.  Honestly, I am embarrassed to admit how naive I was at the time.  I had never heard of the Twin Towers or the World Trade Center.  I had never visited New York.  I had absolutely no concept of the size of the buildings or the magnitude of what we were watching.  I just remember listening to everyone talk and trying to understand what was going on.  The truth is that everyone was trying to figure out what was going on to some degree.  No one could have guessed that a second plane would hit minutes later.  I do remember asking one professor, "How come the building hasn't collapsed?"  I could tell she was startled by the question and she just responded that the buildings were huge compared to an airplane and that the building wouldn't fall.  At this point it was time for class to begin and we all filed into the adjacent rooms to begin our clinicals.  About 30 minutes into the clinicals, a professor came running into the room and said, "We're evacuating right now.  Get out!"  I just remember being frightened by her intensity.  We all gathered our things as fast as we could and went home without a further word.  I later learned that the school was frightened, especially the nursing school, because we were directly across the street from the CDC.  Once everyone pieced together that the nation was under attack, there was a thought that the CDC may be a target.  I went back to my apartment that morning and turned on the tv.  My roommate, a friend and I sat in stunned silence in front of the tv from mid morning until early evening when we could take it no longer.  It was unbearable to watch it all unfold but yet we couldn't turn away.  I made phone calls to my Mom and Dad a few times throughout the day.  I remember my sister wanting me to come home from college but I stayed.  I felt so badly for my roommate who had lost her mother just a few months earlier.  I'm sure she must have wanted to call her mom for comfort and understanding too.



I think I understand more of the horror of that day the older that I get.  I have since come to understand the symbolism that the Twin Towers held.  Now that I have a husband and children of my own, I can begin to imagine the devastation that would be felt in losing one of them.  Certainly I understand more about humanity.  I could never have imagined the depth of evil that is so present in our world.  However, I could also not comprehend the amount of strength and faith that is present.  I am confident that the Christ who conquered death will also win the battle in the end.  While I am steeped in my Christian faith, I have also learned about others faith.  I am grateful for the opportunity to visit a mosque when I was in seminary.  After the attacks on Sept 11, some would have had me believe that all Muslims were not only capable but were also encouraged to perform such evil acts.  The Muslims inside the mosque were fully devoted to God and were full of peace and love.  While I have continued to learn and grow through these10 years, I pray that I will never forget the events of that day or the courage, bravery and faith that were witnessed.   

Grandparents

It seems I have been posting about grandparents a lot recently.  This post is about the real grandparents...my grandparents.  My Dad called earlier this week and told me that my grandma was in the hospital.  They are still not quite sure what is wrong but she seems to be hanging in there.  However, I got another call from Dad today that said Grandpa was in hospice care and not doing well.  After the initial shock of hearing that Grandpa was in hospice, a flood of memories came to me.  My grandparents truly are the greatest!  Growing up all of my friends knew my grandparents and wanted to have them as their own!  I wish I could think of a creative way to write down all the  memories but a list will have to do for now...

• My grandparents love me so much they would come to all my soccer games and swim meets growing up.  I could always count on them being there to cheer me on.  Grandpa would sometimes get in trouble with my dad for being too loud on the sidelines of the soccer game but I just soaked in all his enthusiasm.  Besides, the loud cheering voice was great for swim meets when I could actually pick out his voice while swimming my race!  Impressive!

• My grandparents love me so much that we would have sleepovers at their house all the time growing up.  They had a great house too...they lived on a farm so there was lots of room to run and play.  We would fish in the pond, play hide and seek in barn, jump on the trampoline, rummage through the chicken house, pick blackberries in the garden and eat their fresh corn.  At night we would pile on top of quilts on the floor and watch movies before drifiting off to sleep. 
• My grandparents love me so much that they always had the coolest toys around.  Most of the "toys" were not too expensive (although they did buy us a golf cart).  I'm pretty sure grandpa just collected junk from friends who were getting rid of it... but they were treasures to us grandkids.  The two person bicycle was one of my very favorites.
• My grandparents love me so much that they would do anything to spend time with me.  I must have gotten my love language of time from them!  Grandpa would take us on bike rides and sled down the hill in the snow with us.  Grandma rocked us to sleep until we were much to old to be rocked to sleep.  :-)  Grandma and Grandpa took us on special trips in their motorhome.  They would take one or couple of grandchild(ren) at a time on a trip so that we would feel extra special being away from our siblings.  After Caroline (and Kelsey) was born they made a special effort to come down to Georgia and visit.  Being in their 80's and traveling through an airport is no small feat!

• My grandparents love me so much that they taught me what it means to love and serve others.  I love going out to eat with them because it is a joy to watch them interacting with strangers.  They are always full of smiles and cheer.  Grandma is always making dinner for someone who is sick.  Just a couple of months ago I spoke with her and told her I was making dinner for the homeless ministry in our area and she said she was doing the same thing in her community the following night.  I will always remember making "bread runs" with Grandpa.  He would drive around to the different groceries in town and pick up the day old bread so that it could be given to those in need.  There was a "bread run" ministry at my church in college and I volunteered immediately because of my grandpa.  They taught me to serve!
• My grandparents love me so much that they shared the Gospel with me.  They took me to church every time we would spend the night.  I will always remember putting on my dress, grandpa telling me how I pretty I looked and driving in the great big blue cadillac down the road to the small country church.  Everyone there knew my name, even though I didn't know theirs.  I was always given lots of hugs and kisses from the strangers.  During church Grandma would give me a piece of candy and then I would fall asleep on her arm.  While I slept through many of the sermons as a child, I will never forget the feeling of God's love in that place.

I have so many wonderful memories of my grandparents!  However, it is a sweet realization for me that the reason they are so great is because of Christ in their lives.  I have talked with family members who have said that not all perceive my grandparents the same way that I do.  In years past, they may have been seen as harsh but I never saw anything but grace.  This is not to say that they are not opinionated and do not have thoughts on right/wrong.  However, I know them as love.

Bath Time

We've been trying to get Libby into some sort of night time routine because her "bed time" was too late for me!  Her new routine includes a bath and we have found a great little helper!

Papa!

Mark's Dad, also known as Papa, came into town for Labor Day weekend to meet Libby and play with Caroline.  He may have enjoyed some time with me and Mark, but the girls are much more fun!  We mostly just hung out around the house - reading books, doing puzzles and coloring.  Papa is a much better artist that Mama!  He can make elephants and sheep!  However, we did spend a morning at the zoo and enjoyed a picnic lunch.

I now know where Mark gets all of his crazy antics - Papa and Caroline had a great time playing together!

Sadly, I never got a picture of Papa and Libby together.  We also greatly missed Grandma coming to visit.  We hope that she gets well and is able to make a trip out here soon!  You both are always welcome!