William Douglas

My Grandpa passed away today. He was 88 years old. When he was here visiting for his 80th birthday, he told my mom not to grieve if anything happened to him. He had lived a full life and was ready to move on.

My Grandma passed away many years ago leaving my Uncle Earl and Grandpa the only family on the east coast. Last year my Uncle lost his job and decided to follow through with plans to move to Arizona. My parents moved to Arizona too and they purchased a large house with my Uncle. The plan was to have my Grandpa move in with them.

After my parents and Earl got settled in, it was time to get my Grandpa. I know it was a rough transition for him. He was blind and had to learn to navigate in his new surroundings. During the course of the year my sister Khim and her husband Kevin (fiance at the time) were able to visit. Khim was thrilled to see Grandpa and to receive his blessing for their marriage. Dylan and I were able to visit too and Grandpa got to meet his great-grandsons. He could not see them but I know he enjoyed hearing them laugh and play. I think Ky climbed under the table a few times while Grandpa was eating and played with his feet. I think we got a little chuckle from Grandpa. =)

He was in pretty good health until a few weeks before my sisters wedding. He was having trouble walking, got the chills, wasn't eating well and seemed really confused. My mom was worried to leave for the wedding knowing how difficult it was for Earl to take care of him. He seemed to get a little better so my mom left for the wedding with Grandpa heavy on her mind. Two hours after my mom and dad returned to Phoenix the decision was made to call an ambulance for Grandpa. He was having a hard time breathing.

The prognosis was not good. He was in renal failure, had fluid around his heart and in his lungs. He was in the hospital for a few days and then went to hospice. He slipped into a coma yesterday afternoon and my parents were told that he did not have much longer. We prayed he would pass soon and be free of pain. He passed peacefully at 630am.

I am so happy that he was able to spend his last year with his children and that they were with him and able to say goodbye. I know he left this world feeling loved.

We picked blueberries today. The boys ate a lot. Riley picked them off of the ground and Kyler picked them from the trees. We would have stayed longer but we were worried they would get sick from eating too much. Then we had a picnic. A great family day.

Cute story

Well I thinks its a cute story. I have 4 inch tall figurine that I got at my baby shower for Riley. It's a pregnant women wearing a cape, on the bottom it says "super mom-to-be". It hangs out on the top shelf in the nursery. Well recently Riley has spotted this figurine and has wanted to play with it. The first time he held her he pointed to her and said "mommy" then pointed to me and said "mommy." He gave her a kiss then walked over to me and gave me a kiss. It was so sweet. Now every time he plays with her, we both get a kiss =). It chokes me up every time.

Trip to Seattle (again!)

Feels so good to be home! We went to Seattle for 2 1/2 days to celebrate Kyler's first b-day.

Ok - I am so bad about this. I started writing this weeks ago and I am just now getting back to it. I can hardly remember the trip. Let's see what I can remember . . . .

We drove down to Seattle on Monday. The plan was to go straight to Snoqualmie to spend time with Lori and Samara and to stay with them on Monday night. We were going to watch Samara on Tuesday and bring her with us to the party so that Lori would not have to go to Bothell to pick her up from daycare. This way, Lori could make it to the party on time. Unfortunately, Samara came down with pink eye so we needed to stay away for a while.

The new plan - stop by Costco and get the food for the party then go to my Aunts house to drop off the food, let the boy's nap and decorate. After naps we met Deanna, David, Kris, Jo, April and Carl for dinner at the Ram in Puyallup. We had a great time! It was wonderful to be surrounded by good friends and Family.

We headed to Snoqualmie after dinner. Brad decided to stay home the next day to care for Samara. So we got to spend the morning with Brad and Samara before heading to my Aunts house to get ready for the party.

The party was a success. My Aunt had spent a lot of time cleaning inside the house and of course the kiddos headed straight to the backyard. There were a lot of kids and they all seemed to have a great time. We ate some yummy lasagna (thanks costco!) opened gifts and got really messy with cake! I got to see a lot of people who I don't get to see very often. It was great to have them there to help Kyler celebrate!

Trip to Seattle

I had a wonderful time in Seattle. I left on Tuesday after Christmas. I had to drive down there by myself because Dylan had to be in Salt Lake City that evening. The first night I stayed with my friend April in Fife. It was great seeing her and her fiance, Carl. We had a nice breakfast on Wednesday and then I headed over to my Aunts house in Federal Way.

Wednesday evening I got to spend time with all of my cousins. It was great to be able to see Angela and John who were visiting from California. I found out that they are expecting! Yay - congrats! I also got to spend some time with Deanna and hear about her wedding plans and see some pictures of her dress. I was able to see Jason and Valerie and Jocelyn too - miss you guys.

Dylan was put on long call for new years eve so he was able to meet me in Seattle on Wednesday. We headed over to my friend Lori's house on New Years Eve day. It was the first time we saw here beautiful new home in Snoqualmie. The location is beautiful. It was a wonderful New Years Eve! The best I have had in a long time. A few of my oldest friends gathered at Lori and Brad's house with all of their Kiddo's. I got to meet the newest addition, Charlotte Cadice, what a cutie! We had adults and kids sleeping everywhere including a toddler sleeping in the pantry - good times!

We had a nice breakfast on Friday morning then Dylan headed back to the airport in the afternoon. I stayed one more night with Brad and Lori and then headed home early Sunday. Ky got tired of being in the car about 15 minutes before we got home. Other then that, the drive was good =).