Our family ~ March 24, 2008

Still
by Reuben Morgan

Hide me now
Under your wings
Cover me
within your mighty hand

When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with you above the storm
Father you are king over the flood
I will be still and know you are God

Listen here

Photo by Jann – August 2005 – Mt Rainier – Mt Rainier National Park

Monday morning ~ Homesick

Monday morning. Somehow Monday morning will not be the same… for some time…maybe forever. After a long weekend of praying for a miracle and yet surrendering to God … Monday morning (March 17) is when our son, Peter, called to say their daughter, Grace Kathryn, had gone ahead to Heaven. Monday morning (March 24) is when we joined together with others to honor Grace’s life and laid her to rest in her little casket at Greenlawn Funeral Home North in Springfield, MO. Now it is again a Monday morning and I pause to think of all that has transpired in our lives. We are not the same because of our little baby, Grace. We are comforted that she is in Jesus’ arms though our arms ache to have held her and be able to watch her grow. We received this same sketch* on a card from Aunt Susie and it was also on the front of her funeral bulletin.

Some of you have only heard over my blogging about our first, anticipated granddaughter. To those who learned via blogging and others who became aware already that weekend….words cannot fully express how much your kind, understanding comments and prayers have meant to me and us as a family. Thank you so much for taking a moment to acknowledge Grace Kathryn and our loss. 

You may wonder, “What happened??” The Saturday before, Rachel’s water broke. Preterm Premature Rupture of Membranes - PPROM – is somewhat of a mystery as to what causes it. (It happens in only 2% of pregnancies.) The medical field merely has statistics from those who have suffered PPROM. There was a 15% chance Grace would make it to 34 weeks when she could be delivered with a fair chance of being adequately developed. The first 48 hours was a 50-50 chance and then 15 % chance during the first week. Babies must have amniotic fluid for their little lungs to develop. At almost 21 weeks (Grace’s age), the little alveoli were not developed…not even enough for steroids to be administered to speed up lung development. Somewhere between 39 hours and about 45 hours her little heart stopped beating. Our little treasure is in Heaven, safe in the arms of Jesus. Heaven is sweeter.

This morning I happened along a blog I wrote, with it reposted, called Being There ~ Listen. This is the core of my ministry, Walk Alongside Ministries, and this blog conveys the pain we felt with our other son, Andy, when his friend’s wife died in a car accident. The song mentioned in that blog Homesick by MercyMe is what I have watched/listened to on YouTube this morning. It captures my sentiments well. We will see you soon, Grace Kathryn. But now it is time, and our privilege, to keep walking alongside Peter and Rachel besides allowing others to walk alongside us. Thanks to those who have been/are there for all of us.

*In searching the internet, I amazingly found the same sketch of Jesus holding a baby in His arms at this site where you see another Baby Grace honored. Even the file title of the sketch is BabyGrace.

Tuesday update: Pencil art is by Jean Keaton. This sketch is “Christ Comforting Infant”.

Oregon winter/spring flowers 

… in purple and yellow 

No foolin’!!!

On this April Fool’s Day I am finally posting my annual post of this flower collage.How I love spring here!! Yellow and purple flowers have got to be in my favorite flowers category.
 

Dedication to Grace Kathryn ~ March 17, 2008

My friend, Ronda, posted a dedication to our little grandbaby, Grace Kathryn, on her web site. Our time in Springfield was precious and meaningful, though painful. It was good to share our loss of Grace as a family together. Her life was brief (20 weeks and 6 days in the womb), yet we know God knows every day He had planned for her. Psalm 139:13-16 is so good. I especially like the verses:

                          “My frame was not hidden from you
                                    when I was made in the secret place.
                           When I was woven together
                                    in the depths of the earth,
                                    your eyes saw my unformed body.
                           All the days ordained for me were
                                    written in your book before
                                    one of them came to be.”
                                                        Psalm 139:15-16 (NIV)

“The Message” version says “conception to birth”. Ah, God definitely is alert and attentive.

The poem, “A Baby’s Secret”, also came from Ronda and was read at Grace’s graveside service by one of Rachel’s third grade students.

Update Sat. a.m.: 
Want you to be aware Eaglewind posted a wonderful message of comfort for us the day we had Grace’s graveside service; and I am just now seeing this morning.:) We are blessed to have such wonderful friends!

Grace Kathryn

Born and with Jesus

March 17, 2008

Today is Easter Sunday 2008. This Resurrection Day reminds us we will see our first, anticipated grandchild, Grace Kathryn, in heaven some day. Tomorrow morning we will say our final goodbye to Grace and remember her with Peter and Rachel and their friends as well as her uncle, Andy, and Rachel’s parents, Dave and Pat, at a graveside service here in Springfield, MO. 

                                      
Sisters: Anna and Jann
Anna and I had a great day at the coast and then topped if off by eating with Glen at our favorite Thai restaurant, Thai Flavor. We wore our Columbia Sportswear fleece jackets … but we aren’t twins. I ‘found’ this mint one this summer for Anna’s Christmas gift; she has found it to be very cozy…. especially under her raincoat when popping out of the car to take pictures with a bit of a humid wind blowing.

Here’s a photo of us quite awhile ago.

                          photo by Carl Peter ~ 1962

  
   Dole Plantation Garden – Oahu – Jan 2008

This bird so faithfully stood as guard over the pond in the garden at the Dole Plantation. Wonder if Sheryl’s kids saw this bird any of the times they went to the Dole Plantation.

 
Haystack Rock from Ecola State Park
near Cannon Beach, OR

My sister, Anna, and I went to the coast today. It was windy enough for some higher waves. We had really great chowder at Dooger’s and looked around a few shops (She got an Oregon float.) plus checking out spots to take photos of the ocean here and there. Anna came earlier in the week for a music conference and stayed a couple days extra so we could have “sister hanging out time”. She was really happy to see the ocean today … as Colorado just doesn’t have that! It was amazing to see all the trees damaged by the high winds/lots of rain in early December. Another time I’ll show the photos of the largest sitka spruce that finally toppled with all that wind/rain.