K is 7!!!!!!!!!!!

I thought I told the kids they were no longer allowed to grow up!  After J turned 10 I said they all had to stay that little forever!  They obviously were not listening!!  

In the middle of an incredibly hard week, K turned 7!  I don't understand how he went from this:

To this!  He is such a little man, and still a little comedian and still my little cuddle-bug! 

This is K's cake that Daddy wanted for him.  He adored it!  And could not wait to dig into everything! :)

A day on the Farm

My kids LOVE to go to their Aunt and Uncle's farm.  We generally have a little fight everytime we have to leave.  I love this, and in my heart with we could build a small farm in the country so my kids could just run!

Hand milking a cow.  For some reason J and K were determined and begged Uncle D to hand milk a cow.  It was possibly one of the funniest things I watched!

This is one of my favorite pictures of the whole day.  Dad and D had no clue I was taking pictures of them.  They were watching the cattle come in for "supper" and just discussing everything farm living.

J and cousin J climbing trees!

K and cousins M, M and R playing in the dirt.  Little dirt diggers!

More farm living talks!

And this is what happens after having a whole day of running around on the farm.  It was a very quiet 45 minute drive home!

Saying goodbye, again...

It just never gets easier, does it?  The beginning of April started with some heart-wrenching news, my dad(Grampy J) was diagnosed with esophageal cancer stage 3.  this was like a sucker punch to the gut.  It was something I knew deep down, but never actually wanted to hear those words.  After numerous doctor appointments Dad and Mom were faced with the reality of him not being able to do any treatments(ie: chemo, radiation, surgery...).  We tried to prepare everything as much as we could, and another punch came when he was admitted to the hospital for one thing after another, it seemed like as soon as he got home he was taken back.

This was the last picture my kids got with Grampy and Grammy.
This was 3 days before his first time in the hospital.

3 weeks ago he was taken into the local hospital.  We were informed this would most likely be the last time.  My mother, myself, and both my brothers spent everyday in the hospital with Dad.  We saw the ups and downs, his ups almost made him seem like he would get up and run around, his lows were heart-wrenching.  The doctor(and good friend) told us the beginning of that week it would be roughly 12-30 hours that we would have left with him.  We never ever expected this to happen so quickly!  Dad hung on until April 30, 2014 at 1 a.m., 4 weeks after his initial diagnosis.

We will never understand what God's plan is, but I do know one thing and hold this incredibly close to my heart, I will see everyone again.  Dad's parting words to us were, "I am ready to go HOME.", it took everything in all of us to tell him, "Let go Dad.".  Those were possibly the hardest words I have ever had to say.  But wanting him on earth just for me, is selfish.  He is no longer in pain, he is no longer suffering, his future is no longer uncertain.  He is with his Heavenly Father and waiting to be with us all again!   So to end this little post(because I am crying again), I love you Dad!

We love and Miss you Grampy and Papa!  Love your little Norder Midgets!

I want to thank everyone who sent meals, called, helped with our kiddos and households, sent cards and came to the visitation!  It truly showed his testament in life!