Thank You!

I just wanted to publicly thank those who have shown support and love to me & my family over the last few days. First off, my sorority sisters. You girls are wonderful. Thank you for the random text messages, facebook posts, and Oncourse messages telling me how sorry you are and that you love me. I'm so honored to be apart of such a great group of women.
Second, my friends -- Erin, LeighAnn, Conrad, Ashley, Joel, Will, Kelsey, & Dugan. Through your texts, visits, facebook posts, etc. I have found strength to get through the last 2 days. Thank you from my family for the flowers and for coming to the viewing yesterday as well. I feel so blessed to have you in my life & am continually reminded how lucky I am to call you friends.
Third, my boyfriend -- Carl. You've been a wonderful outlet for me to go to when I'm sad. You comforted me and let me cry in your arms. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart & my family's, for being with us today at the funeral. It was more comforting than you know to simply have you hold my hand during the service.
Fourth, my mom & Jaime. Mom, I don't even know how to thank you enough for hugging me multiple times in the last few days and letting me spill my heart out to you. You are my best friend & I would be absolutely lost without you. Jaime, thank you for the random hugs & kisses on my forehead. Those in and of itself have helped comfort me.
Fifth, to those who have sent me messages/posts on facebook and cards-- there are too many of you to name but you know who you are. I'm completely humbled by how much support and loving words I have gotten from you... especially those who I don't really talk to that much. It has meant so much to me to have your sympathies and to know that I was important enough to you to let me know I was in your thoughts and prayers.
Sixth, to my family. The last month hasn't been easy for us, seeing Grandpa like he was, but we've become closer because of it, and I have faith that we will continue to grow. I love you all more than words can say and I'm continually grateful to have each and every one of you as my family.
Finally...my Grandma. I know you probably won't see this, but I'm amazed at how strong of a woman you are. You have handled all of this with such poise and dignity, while at the same time grieving the loss of your best friend. You & Grandpa have been the best grandparents a girl could ask for and while we will all miss Grandpa immensely, we know he is with his Lord & no longer suffering. I love you beyond words & cherish you so much more.

I love you all.

My Grandpa

As you all probably know by now, my grandpa passed away tonight. He has had multiple myeloma cancer for the last 2 1/2 years and had really taken a turn for the worse within the last week or two. It was so weird how fast he was changing. I remember the first day I went to see him after they brought in a hospital bed. He was sitting up, eating and talking. The next time I went to see him, which was like 2 or 3 days later, he wasn't able to feed himself. And then there was today but I'm not going to get in to that. I woke up this morning planning to spend a good portion of my day in Nappanee with my family. I knew the end was near but I had no idea how close it really was. My aunts and I, along with my grandma, were sitting in the living room with my grandpa, looking through a bunch of pictures when all of a sudden my grandpa started to open his eyes (he had been unresponsive since yesterday). Talking about it later tonight, we all came to the agreement that he did that because a. he wanted to get our attention and b. he wanted to make sure we were all around him. Those last few minutes with him are something that I'll never forget.
What amazes me the most in all of this is how grateful my family was. My dad, grandma and aunts kept saying "God is so good". See, through all of this, my grandpa hasn't had any pain. Which is unbelievable given the type of cancer he had. But to see the rest of my family giving thanks shortly after their father/husband had passed away completely humbled me. God really IS good. As much as I'm going to miss my grandpa and his quiet whit (he had some really good one-liners over the years), I'm SO thankful that the Lord spared him pain.
It still feels like a really bad dream that I'm gonna wake up from and I'm sure it'll feel like that for a while. I'm just thankful that I was able to be with him in his final hours.

Thank you to all my friends, family, Carl's rugby team, and other loved ones who have extended condolences to me and my family. You have no idea how much that means and how comforting it is to know we are supported.

"Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies." -- John 11:25