Father ,Daughter Conversation

I will post more pictures later, but I had to share this. My brother and his daughter, Sarah, were having a serious conversation.

 

Christmas

Christmas just wasn't Christmas this year. The girls of course were excited over their trampoline, roller blades, and other gifts, but it just was so different. My Mom and I decided we would take the girls to the movies to see "Marley and Me" thinking it would be a fun movie and keep our minds off of Daddy. Maybe God was telling us we didn't need to forget, but that movie was far from being fun, it was probably one of the saddest movies I've ever seen. I will not spoil the movie for those wishing to see it, but all I could think about was Daddy and the day he passed away. I was in that moment again and my Mom and I both lost it!! So, instead of leaving the theater laughing and talking about what a great movie it was, we left in silence with tears streaming down our faces. That evening my brother, his wife and little girl came over. We took a family picture with just Mom. It was just so sad. I was suppose to go to Shane's family for Christmas, but after the day we had had, I just couldn't go. Both of Shane's grandparent's had passed away this past year and I couldn't take myself to another house where 2 more special people were missing. I hope and pray I did not offend his family by not being there. I am so sorry! One of the girls said in their prayer on Christmas Eve, "God, I hope my Papa has a good Christmas in Heaven."

I will post picture soon!

Goin to Dollywood

My Mom and I decided yesterday that we were going to Dollywood today and tomorrow. I love those last minute trips!!

In Loving Memory

http://www.firstgiving.com/inmemoryofjoenance

American Legion

I took the girls to the American Legion Post in Spartanburg yesterday for a Christmas party for military kids. Here are a few pictures.




 
 
 
 

Prayer Request and more pictures

My Papa Nelson (mom's dad) has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. The doctors seem very optimistic. Please keep him and our family in your prayers!!!

Here is a slideshow of some recent pictures..some I've posted, some I haven't.

More pictures

Eating Thanksgiving with cousins Eli and Caroline

Kelly reading to Eli and Kaley

My Family

The girls wanted to put up Papa's stocking on the mantle. This was his stocking as a child.

Doctor, Prayer, and Pictures

My girls have had a cough for about 3 months now. Back when it all started the doctor gave them allergy medicine and an antibiotic. This didn't work. My kids usually act TERRIBLE at the Doctor and really embarrass me so that's why it took me so long to take them back. Anyways, the past week has been horrible for this, especially at night. The poor kids couldn't sleep, so of course poor mommy couldn't sleep. They would toss and turn, sit up in the bed, cough, cough, cough. So this morning, after being on hold for 15 mins with the doctors office trying to make an appointment for them, the lady says, "I'll transfer your message to a nurse and have her call you back." So a few hours later the nurse calls back. She said, "I need to go talk to the doctor and I'll call you back." Finally she called back and said to come in at 3:30, after I kept the kids out of school to take them. Keep in mind I called the first time around 9:30 am. Anyways, I threatened my kids lives before we went in that they better act right and not embarrass me. Thankfully, they did. She changed their allergy medicine to Allegra, gave them flonase to squirt up their nose, and augmitin (an antibiotic). I have to take them back in 3 weeks. If they aren't better she will send them to an allergist. Hopefully it works.

Tonight, Kelsey was praying. She said, "God, Thank you for taking my Papa to Heaven because he really needed to get well." I wanted to cry. They talk about him everyday, even my 2 year old niece, Sarah. The girls had to put up Papa's stocking on the mantle and they drew him a picture to put in it. One day, Kaley was begging my Mom all day to let her trace her hand. Mom finally sat down and let her. Kaley cut the hands out, cut a long strip of paper out, and stapled the hands to the paper. She made a hat. One of the hands she wrote, Joe, and the other she wrote Rhonda. She gave it to my Mom and said, "Nana, this is yours and Papas hands to remind you that when you're sad Papa is praying for you." Sarah keeps saying, "Papa is in the sky. He's resting! SHHHHHH!!!" We were going to eat at Logans this past Saturday and Sarah asked her Mama if Papa was going to be there. She told her, "No Sarah, remember, Papa is in HEaven." She said Sarah started crying, saying, "But I want to see him!" We all miss him so much but are comforted by the fact that he is happy and no longer suffering!!!

Now for the pictures. I haven't posted in a while so I'm going to go back until Oct.

Ok..more recent pictures to come. I'm really sleepy now!

Answered Prayers

It's been a while since I've last blogged. First of all I want to thank each and everyone who has prayed for our family. For the first time in a long time I feel like my prayers have been answered in so many ways. God is amazing! On Dec. 26, 2007, when my Dad first found out he had pancreatic cancer, I prayed so hard that God would heal him and not take him from us. I prayed he would be able to have the Whipple operation and would be in the 3-5% of people that survive longer than a year. And for a few months, God did that, the cancer stopped growing and appeared to be dead. He felt good, went back to work, and was regaining some of his strength. I am thankful for those months, even though I was in Alaska for most of it and didn't enjoy this time with him. Sometimes I feel quilty for going away, but God wanted us to be with Shane. Back to my point of my prayers being answered....in August when the cancer came back, at first I once again prayed that he would be healed. They sent him to Duke to have the trail treatments, but he was knocked out of the trial. Something always seemed to happen that allowed him not to have treatment. From Aug. until he passed away he had one treatment. I did blame the doctors for this but now I realize that God had his reasons for Daddy not having the treatments. After I realized that Daddy was not going to get better, I began praying that God would comfort him, keep him from pain, and not allow him to suffer. I prayed that he would die. That must sound horrible. It was horrible seeing him suffer the way he did. To see my once 300 lbs Dad that loved to eat anything and everything, laying in the bed nothing but skin and bones, except the fluid that kept building up in his stomach. I am not going to post the details of the suffering and/or his death because it was so terrible. Back to my point again, on Nov. 1 at 2:19 A.M., God answered my prayers and took his pain and suffering away. He lost his battle to cancer but won eternal life in Heaven. By taking my Daddy, God answered not only one prayer but two. He kept my family together. Some of you know about the problems Shane and I were having. The night Daddy passed away I contacted the American Red Cross, and the Army allowed Shane to come home for a month. During this month, Shane and I made amazing progress, and we've both reailzed a lot of things. I feel like God took my Dad when he did so that my family would be saved. If Shane did not come home, I feel like our marriage would not have worked. God knew Shane and I needed to be together to work things out. I miss my Dad so much!!! Everytime I close my eyes I see the night he passed away. I have nightmares about it and have a difficult time sleeping. I thank God for giving me the strength to be there for both he and my Mom. God is good!!! It doesn't always seem that way, but the trials that are thrown in our paths are meant to make us stronger.God Bless you all! I will post some pictures soon!

In Loving Memory

The night of my Daddy's funeral the girls called me into their room and said, "Look Mom! We made a special shelf for Papa so we don't forget!" The flowers are from the flower that was on his casket. They wrote in a sharpie marker, I Love Papa, I Love Joe, etc. What was I suppose to say?