Tag: family

Fun with Family

Posted on by Sarah Marshall

We played at iT’z, the family fun center.
iT'z Collage

We went to the beach in Galveston.
Galveston collage

We went to the Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park and watched some Cougar Baseball.
Minute Maid Collage

We rode the train to the Houston Zoo and saw lots of animals.
Zoo Collage

We showed Grandma & Aunt Jacqie how Brooke makes breakfast.
Breakfast Collage

We made a snack out of Play-Doh.
Play-Doh collage

We helped Jake pick out a Cowboy Hat!
Cavendars Collage

Then no sooner had we said Hello, it was time to say Good-bye 🙁 We bid Gamma, Jacqie & Bumpa Jake farewell in the terminal on “Aihpane Day”.
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And Munch was knocked out before we made it our of the airport and to the freeway.
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The post I've been dreading

Posted on by Sarah Marshall

I was very grateful for Wordless Wednesday this week.  I wanted to share that picture of my Daddy and my little girl in Grandpa’s Gun Room.  I just didn’t want to talk about it…didn’t want to put words to it.

But I don’t know that I could come back here and not mention it.

I lost my Grandpa last week.  To those who didn’t know him, I mean really know, you would have thought he was just a mean ‘ol man who had a tendency to say non-PC things.  But if you were lucky enough to be family or friend, you would have known he was a loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.  His service in the Army during World War II was a very important part of him.  He loved the outdoors and I think it chipped at a little piece of all of us when he was no longer physically able make his annual hunting trips to Wyoming.

I’m sure all of us grandkids spent time with Grandpa in the Gun Room at one time or another.  I remember carefully weighing ammo while I helped him fill shells.  We have pictures of my youngest sister Jacqie making him “ice cream sundaes” out of tools she came across in there.  So when Brooke joined Daddy in the Gun Room after Grandpa’s funeral, my heart melted.  At first I was preoccupied with keeping her from touching anything.  That was Grandpa’s shrine and I didn’t want to be responsible for harming it in any way. 

When Daddy said “I got her” it was my cue to take a step back and let the new generation of Grandpa and Granddaughter take over.  I left the room, holding back tears.  Luckily, Jacqie went back and took pictures of their fun.

Gun Room Fun

Coming back to Texas has been hard.  Saying good-bye to our families is always hard but this time it just hurt.  I feel like I left my heart in Michigan.

Big Strength in a Small Package

Posted on by Sarah Marshall

Last week marked the one-year anniversary of my sister Jacqie’s back surgery to correct her scoliosis.  We didn’t know it at the time but this particular surgery is considered one of the most painful from which to recover.  Not too hard to imagine when you consider it involves titanium rods and her spine.  The surgery itself was successful but the recovery was much worse than anyone expected.  Pain meds that didn’t work, caused adverse reactions, inability to keep food down…if there was an obstacle, poor Jacq encountered it.  But all the while, she plugged right through – waiting for the day she could have mashed potatoes!

In honor of this anniversary, I went through and read through all of the posts on the CarePage they set up to keep us updated on her surgery and recovery.  Reading through & reliving those days brought me to tears.  How does someone find the will to keep going when she’s in pain, away from home and nothing goes her way?

I don’t know but she did.  And I hope she knows just how proud we all are of her!!

Jacq & her sweetheart Jake, just 10 weeks after surgery at her graduation open house
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