Move #3

In the middle of December, Lucas & I moved for a third time. We moved just down the road, literally, about a mile. A family friend had built a new house, leaving their old house vacant & they were looking for renters.
The house is bigger than what we needed but the location is great and the rent is more than reasonable.
It's a nice house, the first house, Lucas & I have both felt like we were at "home." Lucas. Max. And me.
We enjoyed decorating for Christmas and finally unpacking and USING all the wonderful gifts we got for our wedding six months prior. The house came with most appliances, we only had to purchase a microwave & refrigerator. We also decided it was time to purchase our own furniture.

2011 Christmas Surprise

Each year, we have a small Christmas celebration at my mom and dads. Just mom, dad, their three kids, significant others and nana and papa.
This year, we were missing papa. So much. But, when I opened our Christmas card from Holly and Gary, I knew papa was there and he was happier than ever. The Christmas card announced the coming of my niece or nephew! My big sister was expecting her first child! I couldn't have been happier - it brought tears to my eyes. Later that night, I had texted holly & told her how happy Papa would have been & how excited I was - I was going to be an auntie!! :)

Surrounded by Love...

I often think about the last time Papa spoke of me. It was a day or two before he passed. I had just gotten home from work and went into the bedroom to see him. There were already a few people in there and they had told him that I had just gotten home and his response was "oh, she's good." Ever since that day, I've tried more than ever to live up to that. He meant the world to me. And will forever have an impression on my heart and all I do.

On November 30, 2011 Papa left this Earth to go somewhere far better. Somewhere he would be pain free. He went peacefully with most of his family surrounding him at his home. He was surrounded by love.
I was laying in the bed next to him, holding his hand as he took his last breath.

Unfortunate News...

My Papa has always held a very special place in my heart. Growing up I saw him nearly every day. Nana & Papa lived right up the field from us - the farm my parents own was Nana & Papa's. And before that, it was Papa's parents.
Papa always helped on the farm for as long as I can remember. And my mom & dad and us kids helped Nana and Papa often.
I spent many summers mowing their lawn, picking weeds, cleaning house, washing windows & doing anything else to help. We would spend HOT summer nights in their cool basement as they had AC and we did not. We would go up there about one night a week and the adults would play cards and us kids would watch movies or TV and eat popcorn.
One summer, Papa had a stroke & we found out he had diabetes. The Dr's told him he would probably never be able to do farm work again or drive tractor. The whole family rallied around him and encouraged him and he was far from giving up. He proved them wrong and did both those things. That summer I spent the majority of my time at their house. He was unable to drive his blue truck during recovery of the stroke so I was the illegal "truck driver." I would drive up each day through the field and help with whatever they needed help with.
For many of the reasons illustrated above, when Lucas & I moved in with Nana & Papa it was not a big deal to me - I was extremely grateful. When i would tell people, some would cringe as if it was the most uncomfortable thing, etc. it wasn't. It was the opposite. It had always been my second home & now was more important than ever that we were there.
At the end of August 2011, Papa was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and he was given 3 - 6 months to live. We were devastated. & we were reminded to live each day to the fullest - Papa would never let us forget that.
The following pictures are some ways he lived life to his fullest...

Our Wedding

Lucas & I were married on June 11, 2011. The pictures tell a good story. :) All photos courtesy of Kate Botwinski Photography.

Move #2

At some point in the early spring of 2011, a bank took over ownership of the duplex we were renting. Several months went by where there were no changes. We continued paying rent, obviously, just wrote the check out to someone else. We had several interested buyers come through and view the duplex. It wasn't until May that we received a phone call saying they have an accepted offer and though our lease was good through September 2011, the gentleman purchasing the property would really like for us to be out by June.
Perfect. Timing. Not. :(
So, as if we didn't have enough stress at the time, with our wedding right around the corner (6.11.11) we decided to move. But where? We had looked around and didn't really find anything. We didn't want to make a rash decision because we were in a hurry. We weren't in a position to buy what we wanted yet. So, we moved in to Nana & Papa's basement. With a lot of help from our family, we packed everything up and made the move over Memorial Day Weekend. At that time, the plan was for this to be rather temporary. We stayed there from The end of May to mid December. As always, it turned out God had a special plan in us being there. Those six and a half months were very special times spent with Nana and Papa.
It turns out that if you are surrounded by love, you have everything you'll ever need... And the best is yet to come...

Along Came Max...

Meet Max. He's a German Shepherd and is cute as ever. We think. And spoiled. And sometimes sassy. :)

We got him at the end of September 2010. Looking back now, we have no idea what we would do without him.
Shortly after we got him, I accepted an offer to help out another LivingCenter in Tomahawk on an interim basis, so most days, he was my traveling buddy. He loved going to the Nursing Hone and seeing all the "old people" & they loved him. For Halloween that year, we dressed up as Dorothy and Toto from the Wizard of Oz.

Because he's our "only child" at this time, you will read many more stories about him in the future, but in the meantime, here's some pictures of him. :)