A touching tribute

Today we had a very low key day at home.  This evening, Thomas and Brandon went to a friend's place to do a little dove hunting while Amanda and I stayed home and watched movies.  After the past few days, today was much needed. 

Over the years, Grampy discussed his funeral with Tom and I and what he wanted.  He wanted me to play the piano and to sing a special.  Some of you may not know this about me, but I am a crier.  I cry at almost anything at anytime.  Whether I'm tired, happy, sad, angry, scared - it doesn't really matter.  I will cry.  And when I sing, look out.  If a song moves me, I will cry.  So ever since Grampy asked me years ago to sing at his funeral, I have been planning to record the song I was going to sing because I figured there was no way I could get through it without breaking down.   Thursday night, I went to Lawler and to record my song, all the while, struggling and wanting to actually sing it at the service.  

As we drove to the church Friday morning, I had many friends praying for me that I would be able to do just that.  Even Tom and the kids told me I could do it.  As I sat down at the piano to begin playing prior to the service, this amazing peace settled over me.  When the time came, I was able to sing "He Was There All the Time" in it's entirety, and not break down.  I did what I wanted the most and that was to sing one last time for Grampy. 

Psalm 46:1

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

It was a touching service for a wonderful man.  My dad and my brother-in-law, Stephen, Tom's youngest brother, officiated the service and they both gave a beautiful tribute to a Godly man.  What a comfort it is hearing the gospel during a time like this.  Wonderful memories were shared and we celebrated a life well lived.   Now comes the healing time for our family.  As the kids go through the upcoming holidays, birthdays and hunting seasons, each event and date will be reminders of his absence.  We will cherish the good times and focus on our special memories with joy knowing we will one day see him again.

With any emotional event such as this, it just drains you.  I think Amanda physically made it through yesterday on sheer will.  We already had a full afternoon planned, so we chose to keep those plans instead of having empty time on our hands.  Plus, our kids would have been terribly disappointed. 

First on our agenda was delivering the completed paperwork to ROCK where Amanda was actually able to ride a horse!  With her white blood cell count as low as it is, it is best to avoid large crowds and she tires out much quicker than usual, but as our doctor pointed out, a low WBC will not keep her from riding a horse.  They haven't technically begun lessons yet, but they were training volunteers, so Amanda and the girl she will be in class with were the helpers.  What a wonderful surprise for Amanda, especially on a day that she could really use some cheering up.

From there we went to Brandon's first football game of the year.  I always enjoy watching my son participate in sports.  The opportunity to go out with his classmates and friends and play a little football was a much needed distraction for him.  It was also a special day because my whole family  and some family friends were able watch the game and then enjoy a celebratory dinner afterwards.  Tom and I have a joke that my family travels in a herd.  While that is true, I feel extremely blessed that we live close enough to be a part of each others lives.  We may not always get along, but we love and support each other.  During times like this, the comfort of family and friends is a sweet thing.

Tomorrow is Sunday and we are planning on being in church.  I need refreshment from God's word after this week!

Please pray that by Monday, Amanda's white blood cell count will have come up and we can have a strong start to chemo.  We were told that we will begin treatment, the delay was to see if her counts would improve.  It should be a unique way to spend her 10th birthday.  The team at Dell is already planning on a special birthday cake for her to enjoy while we are there.  No telling what else they will have up their sleeves!  Don't worry - I'll take plenty of pictures.  :)

Ms. Judy and Amanda getting ready!

This horse is Jody - donated to ROCK by The Core of Cadets from A&M. Whoop!

I think Miss Piggy might have just lost her spot as Amanda's favorite horse.

This is Cash, a former race horse and one Amanda really enjoyed riding.

On to the game - sweet Jem was part of the crew that came to cheer on the Lions!

All right boys - let's play some football!

Life is sweeter with these friends

At the end of the day, the Lions won - good game boys!

A challenging week, and no chemo today

This has been an extremely challenging week here at the Watson home.  Amanda has just not felt good for a few days now, much to our confusion.  This is the week she is supposed to be on the upswing so she can start chemo.  Today was our trip to Dell.  Before that, a little back story on our week up until today.

Monday I posted about Amanda's birthday party at my parent's house with all our family.  Tuesday morning, we found out the heartbreaking news that our Grampy, Lonnie Henderson, had passed away.  While we have the confidence that he is in heaven, our hearts are still heavy over our loss and we will miss him greatly.  Breaking the news to our children was so very difficult.  Thomas was at work on Tuesday, so we waited until he was home on Wednesday so that we could both tell them.  How do you break the news that the man they have known their entire lives and love as a grandfather has died?  I am thankful for a husband that has the ability to be gentle, precise and to the point all the while reminding them of the hope that we know we will see him again.  Grampy is no longer in pain or lonely.  He is with Grammy again, rejoicing with the angels, praising God.  As adults, this is an easier thing to accept and understand. Thomas and I have both known him most of our lives and are grateful for the man he was.  For our children, at the moment, they just see the here and now and how much they will miss him.  I have to admit, I am with my kids right now and am very heartbroken.  It is hard to believe that I will no longer be able to call him, talk to him, hug or kiss him.  The memories are flooding through my mind tonight of how important he was to our family.  One of my favorite memories of him was sitting with him in church through the years and as we prayed, we always held hands.  He was a Godly man and will be greatly missed.

So our day today at Dell started with an emotional late night last night and an early morning this morning.  Today we were to start chemo if her labs were high enough.  The good news is her platelets are great - they did indeed skyrocket!  Praise God and thank you for your prayers!  The bad news is that her white blood cell count is too low to start chemo today. We didn't see that one coming!  Because her numbers were so low, they gave her her monthly dose of antibiotic, but in the process, she had some type of a reaction that required the medication to be stopped so she could receive benedryl to counteract any reaction she may have had.  We then had to wait for the benedryl to kick in before beginning the antibiotic again at a slower rate.  All in all, it was a very stressful and long morning.  So now we go back on Monday, Amanda's birthday, to try again and see if her WBC has improved.  Please pray that over the weekend her WBC will improve so that we can start chemo at a good place.  Another praise is that she as officially been approved to participate in physical therapy at R.O.C.K. utilizing equine therapy. (She gets to ride horses!)  So is so excited!

At times this week I have felt so fragile - like if you just touched me wrong, I would shatter.  Just when you thought life couldn't get more challenging, it does.  The roller coaster of emotions over the last few days has been exhausting.  But throughout it all, Isaiah 43 has swirled through my mind,  giving me much needed encouragement and strength.

Isaiah 43

But now thus says the Lord,

he who created you, O Jacob,
    he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
    I have called you by name, you are mine.
² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
    and the flame shall not consume you.
³ For I am the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

By the time many of you read this tomorrow, Grampy's funeral will be over.   Please pray for our family both tomorrow and over the next few months as the kids adjust to Grampy not being here.  He blessed our family more than words can say and will be greatly missed.  The comfort we will cling to is that one day, we will see him again in heaven.

Since Amanda's diagnosis, we have not been able to go out to his house to see him as often as we would have liked.  This past weekend we were able to spend Friday evening and all day Monday with him.  What a blessing for our family!  To end tonight's blog, I went through and found pictures of him and our family from throughout the years.  I hope that it gives you a glimpse of how special of a man he was. 

Our last photo together at Amanda's party on Monday.

Ginger liked Grampy!

Taken last spring after Amanda's diagnosis

So many memories of sitting on this back porch with him

After one of our many lunch dates

One of my favorite pictures of the kids taken in his yard

Amanda's baptism and she was proud that Butch, Grampy's son, was there

After a day of bow hunting - the boys faces were camoed out

Our boy loved Grampy's place - it was his country home.

Christmas at our house

Amanda had caught a bird and was showing it off to Grampy.

This was after Amanda shot her first deer.

Amanda with Granny Kelley and Grampy.  Two very special people we greatly miss.

Birthday hugs!

One of the many days spent at my parent's house for our monthly get-togethers.

She loves her Grampy.

I love this picture!

He loved what he called his "Amanda hugs"

This was Grammy with Brandon

Brandon's first attempt at dove hunting, and for practice, he shot at a frisbee that Tom threw

We enjoyed having him over to our house for Christmas.

On Halloween we always tried to make a stop out at his place.

My hunters! We had many a good hunting trip at Grampy's.

Life long friends

This is one of my favorite pictures.

Brandon's baptism

My dad and the boys after sighting in Brandon's gun.

We never ended a conversation without saying "I love you."  I am thankful for that.

An early Birthday update

The past few days have been fairly routine around the Watson house. Falling into a school routine for both kids has been nice.  The one new challenge is that Amanda has been struggling in the mornings with stomach pains.  They tend to last until almost lunch which means she has not been eating breakfast or lunch the past few days.  Ugh.  Just when I think we may be making headway with her weight, this hits.  She seems to make it up in the afternoon with snacking, but I still wish she could eat three meals a day AND snack all afternoon!   We can't help but wonder if it has something to do with the timing of her treatment cycle and this being her sixth week. 

As I shared her recent stomach issues with friends one day and expressed concern along with a little anxiety over not getting some work done, they gently reminded me that is exactly why we are homeschooling.  We are homeschooling so that when she feels bad, we don't have to push her to do any school work.  Instead, we can let her rest and take it easy.  She can take things at her pace and do work as she is able.  It was the reminder I needed that even with her school work, I must take things one day at a time. 

On this Labor Day holiday, the boys went dove hunting, so Amanda and I slept in a little before heading to my parent's house for Amanda's and Uncle Wayne's birthday party today.  Each month my family gets together at my parent's house to celebrate birthdays.  Needless to say, with her 10th birthday this month, Amanda has been very excited about this party! 

This morning, she had just gotten up, when out of the blue, she got sick.  We were not expecting that! She hasn't been sick since her first treatment cycle.  I felt so bad for her.  What a terrible way to start off a day that she has been looking forward to.  However, as things like that seem to go, she felt much better afterwards and it has ended up a good day.  While she continues to have a low energy level and does not feel up to doing much, we are still praying that her numbers are on the rise and come Thursday, we can start chemo. 

A good first day of Dove season!

Taking apart a DVD player - keeps them entertained for hours!

The Birthday Girl

Grampy came to help us celebrate today.

Our traditional game of Nerds.

The boys playing a fierce game of XBox.....

It will be Thanksgiving before we are all back together again. As the kids get older, go off to college and get married, it is harder to find times that we can all get together.  These days, I never take a day for granted, for each one of them is a special gift.

Joshua 24:15
And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.