The Egbert Triplets

This past Saturday, Ben had to work, so I spent the day up at my mom's school helping her get ready for Monday and for a new school year.  We got a lot done, and on the way home, we stopped by Scott and Amanda's house to meet their new babies -- Bradley, Carly, and Amie Kate. 

I had been dying to meet them since the day that they were born {just over a month ago}, but unfortunately, I just hadn't had a chance yet.  They are still so tiny {just 6 pounds or so}, and they are so precious, too.

We had such a great time holding them and watching them as they slept, and of course, it was good to see and catch up with Scott and Amanda, too.  Yes, we did notice that the two of you were there, too -- even if we didn't make much eye contact. ;)

Congrats again, Scott and Amanda.  Your babies are so cute and so good -- if it weren't for all of their accessories, you wouldn't even know three babies live in that house. ;)

Thanks again for letting us drop by.  We will definitely be back!

Miles' New Truck

After trying to decide between a couple gift ideas for Miles' 2nd birthday, we ended up getting him a Little Tikes Cozy Truck, and as soon as we brought the box around the corner, I knew that was going to love it.  He could hardly wait for Ben to put it together.  He sat down, put the steering wheel on, and started driving.

Vroom, vroom...

He didn't even care about the fact that it had no wheels {or any other parts}.

He had so much fun driving while Ben put it together.

And when he got tired of driving, he pushed it around the house.

Unfortunately, the whole process came to screeching halt when Ben realized that he had put the tires on backwards and couldn't get them back off.  It was already past Miles' bedtime, so he went to sleep, and the guys continued to work.  After spending about 30 minutes trying to pry the tires from the metal piece that they were attached to, Ben decided to call it a night and try again the next day.

That next day, Ben realized that he hadn't put them on the backwards after all {it's amazing what a good night's sleep can do}, so when we got home that evening, we went back over there to finish putting it together.  Unfortunately, Miles was already asleep at that point, but we left it there for him to find the next day -- 2 days after his actual birthday, but better late than never, right?  Cheryl texted us this picture the next day.

Hmmm....I don't know about you, but I think he likes it. ;)  Happy Birthday Miles!  We love you.

58th Wedding Anniversary

Today is G and Pawpaw Jack's 58th wedding anniversary.

Unfortunately, I never really got to know Pawpaw Jack since he passed away 24 years ago when I was just 4 years old, but I know that G was really excited about seeing him again, and I can almost guarantee that he was waiting for her last week at Heaven's gates.

Happy Anniversary!  I love and miss you both, and I hope y'all had a wonderful time celebrating together.

Happy Birthday Miles!

Happy 2nd birthday to our very favorite neighbor...

 

We absolutely love living next door to you and can't wait to see what this next year brings.  Hopefully it doesn't fly by nearly as fast as the first two did though.  We love you and are so proud of you!

Missing G

It's hard to believe that it's already been a week since G passed away.  I already miss her so much, and in some ways, I keep hoping that this is all just a dream and that I'll eventually wake up and she'll still be here.

The last two weeks of G's life were rough {and got rougher every day as her health declined}, but the time that I spent with her is something that I'll always cherish.  I spent every evening after work at her house and as much of my weekends over there as I could.  I held her hand, I told her that I loved her {over and over and over again}, and I scratched her back while singing the songs to her that she used to sing to us when we were little.

 G and me holding hands on Saturday, August 11th

Sunday, the last day that I was with her, was the first day that she was completely unresponsive, but even though she didn't move at all that day and was no longer able to hold my hand, I knew that she could hear me.  I laid in bed with her and played some of her favorite songs on my phone, and I could tell that she was listening by the way that her breathing would soften.  That night when I left, I told G that I was going home to go to sleep and that I'd see her tomorrow but that if I didn't that was okay, too.  As hard as it was for me to admit it, I had said goodbye, and I was ready for her to go to Heaven. 

G passed away peacefully in her sleep and in the comfort of her own bed that next afternoon, which was last Monday, August 13th.  We decided to have her visitation on Friday evening and her memorial service on Saturday morning and spent the entire week preparing for both.  Thankfully, G had already prearranged almost everything with the funeral home and left us lots of handwritten notes on what she would like included in her memorial service.  We found a list of her favorite hymns, and from that list, we decided to include "How Great Thou Art", "Because He Lives", and "Hymn of Promise" as a part of the service.  We also found a sheet where she had written out the lyrics to "What a Wonderful World" by Louie Armstrong and decided to include that song in the slideshow that Audrey, Holly, and I put together as well as a song called "Live Like That" by Sidewalk Prophets that I heard a few times on the radio while driving back and forth to G's house over the past couple of weeks and brought tears to my eyes each time.  In addition to the songs, we also found the name of the violinist that she wanted to play during the service.  This particular violinist had played as part of a full orchestra at her church a few years ago, and she had enjoyed his music so much that she saved every program that he was in {with his name circled} and even asked him after one of the services if he would consider playing at her funeral.  We had no idea how to go about finding this guy, but thankfully Holly was able to find his number online and called him up.  He ended up being a really, really nice guy who said that he was honored to play at her service, and his music was beautiful. 

Overall, the service went well.  Pastor Jim did a great job retelling the stories of G's life with just enough humor to keep us from crying the entire time, and the scripture that we chose to include was so fitting since it was the one that she read everyday before going to work -- Proverbs 3:1-6.

 My son, never forget the things I've taught you.  If you want a long and satisfying life, closely follow my instructions.  Never forget to be truthful and kind.  Hold these virtues tightly.  Write them deep within your heart.  If you want favor with both God and man, and a reputation for good judgment and common sense, then trust the Lord completely; don't ever trust yourself.  In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.

I never imagined what my life would be like without G, and I'll be honest -- I don't like it.  She was one of my best friends, and I really miss her, but it helps to remember that she is with the Lord and is in good hands.  As I told Maureen {her really sweet hospice nurse}, G wasn't just a wonderful woman; she was the BEST.  And she always will be.

Putting Things Into Perspective

While spending time with G these past few days, I've been doing a lot of thinking.  If I live to be G's age, I won't get to see her again for another 56 years, which makes me sad because that's a really, really long time.  It also makes me realize how ready I'll be at that point to go to Heaven and see her again.  It wasn't until today though that I realized that I will also have grandkids that so badly don't want me to leave this earth either.  It definitely doesn't make things easier, but it does somewhat put things into perspective.