Grandpa Part 2: The Miracle

From the 7th of January all the way to the 12th we spend visiting the hospital to see if Grandpa Peter was improving. Each day seemed to be a yo-yo. One good day than a bad. The bad days were very strange, he would just lay in bed, never opening his eyes or eating. So when he arrived at our house on the 12th TALKING we were all in shock!

For 5 days we proceeded to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner together as a family. All eight of us! Grandpa spoke more than we had heard in months. His first words upon arriving in his room were "Snow" and "Hello Sweeties" - when he saw the kids. We saw him smile and got to walk with him, these are all things we now consider Our Miracle.

"You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples" Ps. 77:14

When we were "knee deep" in these days, I must admitt to you, we did not look at them as a miracle. During this time it felt like we were running in so many different directions. We were on a real life learning curve; days filled with medicine doses, wondering if we were going to be sleeping thru the night, visits from hospice/friends and giving the proper care for someone in their last days of life.

It wasn't until Monday the 18th that life started to slow down. Grandpa stopped eating that day and on Tuesday he would stop drinking! Connie, his daughter was able to fly in from Vancouver and help with his care. It was now going to be a different, even longer road.

Make sure to check back for our final message Part 3: The last days

Grandpa comes home....Part 1

It was a beautiful wednesday in January. It had just snowed 4 inches the night before and we needed to get ready.

You see the week prior was filled with so many trips to the hospital that the house had been neglected! A wonderful friend, Melanie, was on her way over to help because it was going to be a big job. We had to prepare a room, one room in the house that would never have the same feeling or meaning ever again! So we moved furniture and beds and exercise equipment and couches and chairs until we got the right feel. This would be Grandpa Peters final resting place. We wanted it to be warm, sunny and PERFECT.

We chose a room that we like to call the Sun Room, it is right off the family room so you can see and feel the roaring fire yet it has the most south facing windows so you can look out at the unmarked snow of the forest and feel the peace of our Maker. It was going to be an uncharted journey for us and we were praying for His love to surround us.

By the time it was all over, 17 days later which was a lot longer than any of us expected, we would laugh, cry and be over taken by the love of our friends & church family. God was so good to us and in the end. What seemed like our greatest loss, of a dad, grandpa, and Reinhild's husband, would be transformed into the greatest gift of all -- Grandpa got to go home to be with Jesus and be restored."He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Rev. 21:4

Look for part 2 to come - Our Miracle.