This week was a hard one as we headed back home for PawPaw's funeral. As I type this, it is still hard to imagine that he won't be at the country house when we visit going forward. The boys will miss his ping pong skills and his enthusiasm as they attempt to play pool. We will continue to celebrate PawPaw's life as I think about the legacy he left behind. Without PawPaw, I wouldn't have Zack and without Zack, we wouldn't have Zander and Maddox. That is pretty incredible when you think about it. :)
Here is how we spent our fifth week of summer together. We have one more week until Mommy starts back to work but the boys will continue to have fun plans until the school year starts for them in a month!
We had two lake days with the Williams family. Maddox attempted skiing and showed perseverance as he wasn't able to stay up on the skis but continued to try. Zander can now successfully get up on the adult skis without Josh in the water and can cross over the wake and navigate through the water as the boat is turning, etc. We tried to give the boys a couple days of summer fun, knowing it was a hard week and they are trying to process PawPaw no longer being with us.
Zander headed to overnight camp with our church on Tuesday. It is a three day-two night mountain adventure that involves swimming, creek wading, flashlight hikes, s'mores by the campfire, etc. While he was away, Maddox enjoyed some time as the "only child". We ate at Wendy's (a request by Maddox) and Coldstone (Mommy's suggestion) while brother was out of town. We also fit in a day at the pool where many of his friends were playing for the afternoon!
On Wednesday, we headed back home for PawPaw's funeral. We grabbed our big boy from his retreat so he could spend some time with our family.
The flowers were gorgeous and so many people came to offer their condolences and support to the family. I loved the urn that Granny V selected for PawPaw's ashes and she brought the blanket which has all of the family represented on it. The blanket reflects the people that love PawPaw the most. The service was beautiful with James Taylor songs and "It Is Well With My Soul". Dr. Bland was able to celebrate the life of our PawPaw and remind us of the hope we have in eternity as given by our heavenly father and the sacrifice of his Son. We went to Granny V's house afterward to enjoy a meal together. Zander is already lining up a day with Uncle Grant to learn how to play poker (as seen in the picture below) and Zander proudly wore PawPaw's bomber jacket as he headed back up to his overnight camp that evening.
Granny V gave each of the three children PawPaw's last heartbeat in a bottle. Zander was able to get one as well, being the oldest grandson. We also have copies to be laminated so Maddox can have his own. This was such a special reminder of how his heart beat for his family until its last beat.
I'm including a few more of my favorite pictures that I gathered after my previous post. We love you and miss you PawPaw!
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