Safely Home

I think about and miss my mom everyday, and I wonder when I will get to the point that it doesn't hurt to know that she is not at the other end of a quick phone call. I got this from a friend who just lost her mother, so I thought I would share it here:

Safely Home

I am home in Heaven, dear ones;

Oh so happy and so bright!

There is perfect joy and beauty

In this everlasting light.

All the pain and grief is over,

Every restless tossing passed;

I am now at peace forever,

Safely home in Heaven at last.

Did you wonder I so calmly

Trod the valley of the shade?

Oh, but Jesus' love illumined

Every dark and fearful glade.

And He came Himself to meet me

In that way so hard to tread;

And with Jesus' arm to lean on,

Could I have one doubt or dread?

Then you must not grieve so sorely,

For I love you dearly still,

Try to look beyond earth's shadows,

Pray to trust our Father's will.

There is work still waiting for you,

So you must not idly stand;

Do it now, while life remains,

You shall rest in Jesus' land.

When that work is all completed,

He will gently call you Home;

Oh, the rapture of that meeting,

Oh, the joy to see you come!

Yes, our loved ones will be waiting for us there....what a glorious homecoming that will be!

Creating a New Normal...

The last blog post I did was on January 10th after finding out on January 3rd that my mom had leukemia. There has been a lot packed into these last 2 months--joy, sorrow, grief, unbelief, sadness, hope--every emotion you can think of, and some that you can't. We laid mom to rest yesterday after a wonderful service. Their small church was overflowing and standing room only. It was a wonderful testimony to her life of loving her family and those who we love because she first loved us. As devastating as losing your mom is, Scott's oldest brother Stan passed away the same day---YES---the same day, after an extended illness that ended with Hospice care at the home of their mom and dad. A double blow indeed. We experienced such an outpouring of love and support from our friends and church family, otherwise we would not have made it through. By best friend Judith rode into town from 3 hours away and took charge. I don't think I could have made it without her. She took care of the boys, went to Grandparent/Special Person day (along with my Aunt Glenda ) with Silas at his school, cleaned my house from top to bottom, washed clothes, vacuumed floors, waited on a furniture delivery, helped me get pictures printed for my mom's service....I'm exhausted just thinking about it! Thank you God for friends in Christ!

I am ever so grateful for the last 2 months we had with mom. We all got to spend time with her and we definitely grew closer together as a family. My brothers pitched in like you wouldn't even believe. I was able to work a modified schedule at work so that I could cover most of the weekdays and my siblings covered the nights and weekends while I worked. Scott of course had to take care of the boys, but he was such a trooper. I was able to spend time with mom, cook for her, do her laundry, sit and watch her favorite shows with her, just hang out. She felt pretty good up until Feb 24th, she started to really be tired and unable to walk much. She took a turn for the worse over that weekend, and I had to give her a first dose of morphine on Tuesday. The Hospice nurses are wonderful, just a phone call away, but when they tell you it's time to open the box, you know it's bad. She passed away the next morning, on Wednesday March 2nd at 11:30am. Our family is so thankful that she is out of pain and alive with Jesus in Glory. The pain we feel is great at this time, but knowing that she is in a better place makes it a lot easier.

Silas is doing okay, but he got off the bus at her house everyday that I was at work, usually 4 times a week. We will have to try to make this adjustment as easy for him as possible. I am going to try to work a lighter load for a while and see how we do. My dad is going to struggle greatly and we will all have to be there for him and help him adjust to a life without mom, who took care of everything for him for 52 years. We will continue to need prayers, so when the Lord brings our family to your mind, please pray for us!

***Some may think it's morbid to take pictures at a funeral, but I want our boys to remember their Mamaw and we can always think about her through pictures of her***