A Day of Dread and Glory!

We buried Joe's dad yesterday, May 8, 2009. The night before, Joe and I lay in bed talking. I told him I had a feeling of anticipation. Odd, yes, but if you know me. . . Anticipation that something good was happening. Not excitement, that would be really odd! Anticipation that in death God would still use Ronnie for Him. The service was amazing! One of Joe's cousin's sang "Victory in Jesus," Ronnie's favorite hymn. A prayer was said for peace and understanding. Another cousin sang "Amazing Grace" accompanied by guitar. Another favorite of Ronnie's. Yet another cousin, Robert Cargile, preached and I mean he preached. He preached a message of salvation that every person in the chapel could completely understand, young and old! Robert gave an altar call. He asked everyone to stay in their seats and bow their heads. If you have strayed from the Lord or do not know the Lord, he asked we raise our hands. Too many hands for Robbie to count went up! Ronnie's legacy. . .lives being saved even after he is gone!:) Following, Derek, the first cousin, sang "I Bowed on My Knees and Cried Holy!" WOW! So powerful. We had a worship service instead of a funeral service. It was amazing. I have tried to think of another adjective to describe the service. . .amazing is too fitting to be replaced by anything else.

One of the people saved in that service, was Ronnie's widow, Jan. She is filled up with the Lord and now has peace. Still sad, but she has the "Victory in Jesus" and his "Amazing Grace." Tomorrow, she is going to church with us. I am sure this is the first time she has been in a church in at least 6 years, maybe longer and she will be "Bowing on Her Knees and Crying Holy!" Praise the Lord for his grace and goodness.

Ronald Erskine Vail

August 8, 1954 - May 5, 2009

It has been a terribly sad, sad and even sadder day for us.  Joe's dad passed away, very unexpected, but also very peacefully.  For that, we praise the Lord.  He was 54 years old.  In the Bible, God promises 70 years.  Ronnie was so wonderful, God wanted him early!

Ronnie was the father of two boys.  Joe is not his biological son, but I'd like to see you tell either one of them that.  He had five step-children, all who were greatful for the woman he made their mother and the father he was to them.  He had eleven grandchildren ranging in age from 24 to 2.

So many things that happened yesterday allowed us to have peace that God knows what he is doing.  Joe was with a friend of his who is a paramedic when he got the call.  Greg was able to make phone calls to find out what was going on and give us a better understanding of this monumentous disaster in our lives.  Dave, to whom was a high school classmate of Joe's, was the first responder to the house.  He gave us reassurance that Ronnie did not suffer in death.  Through these and many other occurances, we have "peace that passes all understanding."  I now know what "peace that passes all understanding" means.  Until you have experienced it, you don't really know what it is.  We have sadness.  Loads of sadness, but peace.

I have not been able to cry much.  It just won't come to me.  I know I will. I guess I'm just not ready.  It all still seems so surreal.  Picking out burial plots and caskets and flowers felt like shopping for a pair of new shoes that I don't really want.  I am in taskmaster mode.  Have we forgotten anything, anyone, any stone left unturned?  We are recieving family and friends tomorrow and I am sure the magnitude of this tragedy in our lives will hit me like an avalanche very soon.  

Joe has been stellar and stoic.  He has acted as only an oldest child would.  He has supported his baby brother ( who by the way isn't so much of a baby!) and his stepmom.  He has handled situations with grace and fortitude.  He has made decisions that no one want to have to make in their thirties.   He is amazing.  He has only allowed his emotions to get in his way when no one needs him.  He can fall to pieces then and only then.

Please keep our family in your prayers.

A Five Year Old *weep*

Can you believe our wildman is FIVE. . .a whole hand old!  It is so very hard to imagine never having a  tot or preschooler in our house again.  It is also kind of nice to think about! *grin* It was a bittersweet day!  We had a party at The Riverpark with some of his friends and lots of family.  He had a great time and it was a Lego birthday.  You may or may not know, he is our stacker-boy.  The child can stack the most amazing things.  Soda bottles with liquid in them, odd sizes of pieces of wood as tall as he is and even matchbox cars on their sides. . . four high!  Legos say he is a little too young for the little pieces and the complicated building, but he says he can stack and connect and build anything.  And he has!  And a little brag, I made his shirt!

Chase's Prom

As you know, we homeschooled Chase during his years in high school.  His umbrella school had a prom, but he wasn't interested and we lived many miles away anywho!

His girlfriend, Angie, is a senior in high school and asked Chase to take her to her prom.  Here a few delightful pictures of the couple.  They looked great and have a fabulous time!

Dirt Bike Boys

Coy and Caden have begged for dirt bikes forever. Since we were on the road, no place to ride! We always told them, if we move home. . . .well, it looks like we are going to be here a while, so. . . this is Caden's early birthday gift and Coy's very, very early birthday gift! *grin*

Forest Fires

Sunday evening we were hanging out at home expecting a couple friends for dinner. Joe was grilling and I was baking a cake. The kids had gone fishing with Grandpa! The neighbor to the west of us comes over and asks Joe to help put out a fire he had just started to burn. He was burning some brush he's cut down in his field. He tells Joe that the woods behind our house are burning! YIKES Joe asks me to watch the ribs. I am telling you, they were burning so close, I could see the fire. It was probably 100 yards away, but that is too close for me! The firefighters had a bulldozer go through and create a firebreak and that was pretty much the end of it. As of yesterday afternoon, Tuesday, there were still hotspots! It started four houses down from us and consumed about 40 acres.

What Happened to February?

It seems like just yesterday was January and now, already March! I didn't even blog and pay homage to Cupid!

Nothing much going on with us, getting settled in Chattanooga, catching up with friends! It is nice to be home. I just feel like we haven't stopped and don't have any real schedule or plan. Here are some pictures of Caden, Coy, Kain and Kylie (my sweet niece and nephew) preparing for a Valentine's Day party we had for "The Daddies."