Marty's Dad Passed Away

Marty's Dad passed away last Friday, May 23, 2008 at 4:10am. We left Friday to go to Utah and returned this Wednesday night. To make what could be a very long story, short, things didn't turn out quite like we all had planned! Put it this way, by Monday night, about a third of the family was unable to attend Dad's Viewing because of a 'throwing up' virus and then by Tuesday, maybe, oh, half of the family was unable to attend Dad's funeral. Making matters worse, Mom was one of those unable to attend! She was so bad off that she was admitted into the hospital, where she will be for a few more days. There were other things going on from the beginning, Myron stuck in Cincinnati for a day or two- trying to get home, a niece and nephew traveling to NY and witnessing a tornado (not sure which state they were in) right in front of them, Jacob car sick off and on for 4 hours on our drive up to Utah....there was lots of excitement all around!! We did, amongst all of this, have some fun with the family though! Sunday after church everyone headed out to Marty's cousin, Wally Joyner's, Ranch. That was tons of fun - four-wheeling, petting all of their animals (including their newborn cult) and watching their competition horses jump hurdles and all. As you can see, I'm not in any pictures b/c I'm at 'home' with a sick little Marissa who was throwing up at the time :). We had lots of laughs and fun and we also shared tears at our family meetings as we tried to detail the plans for Dad's funeral. I am so grateful for Marty's family! I love them and am so thankful that they have such a love for the Gospel! It really was so nice to all be together again...be it well or sick! Alot of memories as well as "Growth Moments" (as Marty and I call them) were made.
The most awesome thing about his funeral was the 21 Gun Salute! It was a beautiful service and We all felt so honored and proud of our Dad! Marty's oldest sibling, Janell, accepted the flag in Mom's behalf. As hard as it was to say "goodbye", it was a relief to see that he was no longer in pain! He was loved by many and will be truly missed! "Til we meet again, Dad, Til we meet again!" We'll Love you always!!(Marty's Dad Loved Alabama, so this weeks #1 song on my playlist is by them!)Oh and P>S>--Don't ask Jacob about his egg that he has in the picture!...after getting back to Janell's house, he was holding it, waiting for it to hatch, and he accidentally popped his thumb into it! He was so crushed and upset that he "killed his little baby chicken", that he later announced to the entire family that he had to leave tomorrow b/c he didn't take care of his egg! ...yeah, I think maybe we shouldn't bring that one back up.