Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down - 2012 #4

It is with a heavy heart that I write today's blog. My grandfather, Theodore William Major, passed away last night. He was 87 years old and had lived a long, fulfilling life. It is a blessing that he passed on though; he has been suffering from the horrible effects of Parkinson's Disease that had gotten worse recently. Wanting to say something, but not being able to talk as well as constant involuntary body movements are no way to live. He was truly a faithful servant of God and never asked why to anything that happened in his life, just did the Lord's will at all times. I am so blessed to have known him and thankful for all he did to raise my Dad to be the wonderful man he is.

This is Grandpa back in 2005 when I graduated from TTU.

Dad & Grandpa dressed alike for my graduation!

This was at Mike's OTS graduation in Montgomery, AL . Grandpa traveled all that way with us.

Up:

• Anytime a family member passes, all the family gathers together. I can honestly not remember the last time that we were all together on my Dad's side of the family. We used to all gather for a mini family reunion on Memorial Day, but its has been quite some time since we've even done that. I look forward to seeing all of them again and sharing memories about Grandpa.
• Kennedy turned 3 months old this week and man is she getting big! She has the greatest smile, of course when I get the camera out she hides her beautiful smile.

I swear she is already teething, she chews on her fingers constantly!

• Jackson has been sleeping later in the mornings which has been really nice. Not only do I feel more rested, I also get to spend some one on one time with Kennedy before he gets up. If I'm lucky, I even get to enjoy a morning cup of coffee too!
• Mike and I had our first date of the year (one down, eleven to go)! We went to see the movie Red Tails and ate some yummy food at Carino's. The kids were apparently well behaved too according to the sitter.

Down:

• It seems as though Mike and I only have a few weeks or a month together before we are separated again. When I go home for the funeral, I will be staying through the end of March. My plan was to come home while Mike was on TDY anyway, but that wasn't until the end of February. Both of us agreed that it seemed pretty silly to go home and back only to turn around and do it again. Plus plane tickets aren't cheap these days. Therefore I will be staying while Mike returns to Mountain Home. I'll look forward to seeing him at the end of March and hopefully not being separated again for a long while.

Favorite Thing:

Keepsakes become all more precious when the loved one that gave them to you passes away. I started collecting shot glasses when I was very young, my Dad brought one back from one of his business trips to Tennessee and the trend caught on. From then on every time we traveled or my parents traveled I got a new shot glass. I think I have around 150 or so now. Mike keeps saying he's going to build me a shelf to display them all, but for now they are packed away in a box under the bed. 

When I was in high school Grandpa gave me a very special shot glass. He had purchased it at a glass factory in Venice, Italy in 1946 after WWII. It is such a special treasure and while I don't actually use my shot glasses for there intended purpose, I'm pretty sure that one helped numb Grandpa of the tragedy going on around him at the time. No, I'm not saying he was a drinker, but Grandpa was a fighter pilot in WWII. He only flew a few missions before the war was over. He remained in Europe after the war on grave detail - digging up dead bodies to send back home for burial. I can only imagine the awful things he saw.