Such Joy and Such Sorrow

Life has been a bit of a whirlwind lately. Last Wednesday Chris and I packed up all of our stuff along with our boys and headed to the booming town of Andrews, Texas. We were very excited because we were getting to add a sister to our sweet family. We now are a family of 7. Its a bit of a change from the 5 we grew up as. In a matter of 7 months my parents have gained an amazing son and a beautiful daughter. We had the joy of adding the beautiful Crystal Lynn Rogers to our family. The wedding was beautiful and Cole beamed. I know I'm partial because he is my brother but it was a joyful and beautiful thing to watch. There is such joy in seeing my brother that happy. If my feet weren't killing me I probably would have been jumping up and down the whole time because I was just so excited! I don't know if I have ever seen two people who go together as good as Cole and Lynn do. We had a great time seeing our whole family. Will, Jordan and Scuba even came down to celebrate with us. It was a lot of fun and we are SO excited to have Mrs. Lynn Rogers!! :-D This picture was taken by Aunt Carol (who did their pictures) This is just a couple but the rest she posted are on her blog ladyinashoe.blogspot.com feel free to check them out!

Following the wedding we hung out with family for a little while and Sunday headed home. We got in late and of course got little sleep. Its always worth it though. Monday while I was in class Chris found out his grandfather had fallen. Pretty much all we knew at that point was that he was taken in a ambulance. At about 11 that night we found out that he suffered a massive stroke and his chances of recovery were slim. He had brain hemoraging and he was on life support. The next morning we found out that there was no chance of recovery. The doctor suggested the three girls (Nandad's daughters) wait 48 hours before making any decisions to take him off life support. Most of the family had a chance to come in and it was peaceful how he left us. Sadly, Chris and I could not make it due to work. We will be heading out in the morning to Colfax, Louisiana to be with family and for the funeral.

I personally only knew Nandad for about two or so years, but even in the little time I knew him I could tell he was a special man. He lived a life worth living. He had three daughters who each have two children and some of them now have children. Nandad had a big family and each one of them adored him. He never met a stranger and he would talk to anyone. He was such a sweet man. So this weekend we will go down and celebrate his life and that we all got to be a part of it. Its such a joy to be able to do knowing he is now with Father and he is free to walk and run around without pain. Thank you Father for the life you gave Nandad and the love you portrayed through him.