Heaven got another resident!

It is with saddness that I tell you that Bob McCartney, Steve's father, passed away on Sunday, July 13th. It was just one short week after Sarah's birthday. He had been valiantly fighting prostate cancer for a long time, even spent all last year doing chemotherapy treatments with minimal side effects and good success, despite the obvious. Somehow or another he even managed to keep a respectable amount of hair through the whole ordeal! Earlier this year, he switched to a new chemo study through Duke Univ., but after about 2 months his scans showed a significant amount of cancer growth and some complications in his lungs so he had to quit that program. The story of his last few months were periods of good weeks and bad weeks that progressively just got worse, but I can honestly say he did everything he could do to get out and "do things". For example, the day before Sarah's birthday party we had our annual fireworks party at the house and he came and spent the whole evening with us, even watching fireworks until the end. It was his last really good day.
The evening after he died, our family stood around in a circle and each told our best story of Bob. We laughed and cried and it was a wonderful time of rememberance. Sally and Bob were one of a kind! We wouldn't have had it any other way...


Sally and Bob on their wedding day, June 16, 1951. This was one of the most special days of Bob's life...his password always included the number 1951.

This is the Carolina State Veteran's Cemetary where we held the internment service for Bob and Sally on Friday, July 18th. It's an absolutely gorgeous setting! They were buried together in a plot off to the left of the field of view above.
This is the display we had at the internment service. Both Sally & Bob's ashes were in the matching urns. The flag was presented to Ann for Bob's military service. The "military portion" of the service was performed by a memorial team from the Buncombe County Veterans Council. They did an absolutely fabulous job by explaining, in a very personable way, what it means to serve in the military and particularly during World War II. If your loved ones served any length of time in the military it is worth it to honor them in this way. Steve even dusted off his uniform and wore it as a tribute.
The family down at the burial plot.
Steve & I down by the burial plot. The internment service was held at the chapel in the background.



And now for some pictures of our kids:

My parents came out for Bob's services and a little visit. One day we went to the Pisgah Forest for a dip in the river. Sarah had a blast! Logan loved watching the water, but didn't like getting his feet wet.

You know, having kids in your life during difficult times gives you a different perspective on things. Logan just smiled and laughed through the whole thing, oblivious to the grief surrounding him. He was a truly bright light for everyone and gave us a reason to smile too. Sarah is at the age where she's starting to try and make sense of why things happen and what life is about. We were in the car when Steve called to tell me that Bob had passed away, so I turned to Sarah and told her that Grandpa had just gone to heaven. She exclaimed, "So that means he can't move anymore?" and I said, "Yes, it does." It got quiet for a moment as she digested this a bit and then said, "Mommy, I don't want to get old!" I wholeheartedly agreed with her!