In July my parents drove down from Salt Lake to Vegas to go check on my Uncle Walt whose stomach cancer spread to his brain. They also checked on her parents while in town. Grandma said she felt a little sick but that was all. They felt after a few days everyone was stable and decided to drive down to Anthem and surprise us. (We knew they were planning on visiting at the end of July, not the beginning.)
They drove the 4 hour drive and arrived around dinner time on Saturday July 12.
We were living on ramen at this time and didn't have money to go out to eat. I was embarrassed but I told them we needed groceries if we were going to eat all weekend.
We spent a good amount of time at Walmart getting what we needed and then checkout took
F-O-R-E-V-E-R!
The checker had to comment on every little thing we put on the belt and kept telling us it was too much food. We should not be getting this much food at once.
I was so glad to get away from her. Thankfully I haven't seen her since.
We got home about 6:30 and started making burgers and slaw as fast as we could.
We finally ate and enjoyed what was left of the night.
Dad read to all the kids. I'm so glad he does that!
Apparently we wore them out. They went to bed and Jordan went on a run
Jordan has seen so many creatures this summer while running at night.
Jordan is very proud of his calves, I mean new shoes
Normally Lottie has been sleeping from 8-8, but that Sunday morning I heard her at 5am. I slept a few more minutes and Lottie didn't quiet down so I finally got up to go help her.
I came out of the bedroom and noticed my mom wasn't sleeping on the couch so I turned to see where she was and she was coming toward me already dressed.
I raised my arms in question as to what was going on and she walked toward me and said they got a call that my grandma had passed away.
They were getting ready to leave in just a few moments.
I was so worried about my mom, but she kept telling me she was okay and was quite calm.
I couldn't believe it so I woke Jordan to tell him the news.
He was so out of it and took him a few minutes to understand what I was telling him.
The nurse at the home said she was in the middle of a breathing treatment and then stopped breathing and it all happened so fast she didn't feel any pain.
We had a prayer and said goodbye to my parents just 12 hours after they had gotten to Anthem.
It was all very interesting timing because the week before I had fasted for help financially and all of a sudden my parents show up and bought our groceries. Miracle!
And then Jordan and I were supposed to speak that very Sunday and it was all about family history.
I had already written my talk, but I couldn't finish it all week until I heard of my grandma's passing.
While we were sad my parents couldn't hear our talks I felt good about what I said.
I was able to say a quote from my dad about the Family History Library work he's done and stories from his life I didn't know.
I spoke a lot on my great great great grandpa who was my grandma's grandpa
I finished with talking about my grandma.
I did get emotional, but I felt I was able to pull it together in time.
Jordan was able to talk about the Scottish side of his family which made his dad so proud to be a part of. I think that was another miracle considering what was about to happen in the coming months.
My mom planned the funeral the next week and set it for July 18th.
Jordan and I prepared musical numbers that we accompanied each other for.
Everything was crazy timing because the Keith family reunion was set to start Saturday afternoon.
We packed for the reunion and packed up the van to go to Vegas and left at 5am Saturday, the 18th.
We made excellent time and drove up to the church right before the viewing started.
The kids were very reverent for the most part after the funeral started.
Kim and Dave and kids came; Kevin and Clay also came.
It was so good to see all of my grandma and grandpa's family that I haven't seen in years.
It was amazing because all 6 siblings of my grandpa were able to be there.
There was a nice turnout for the viewing and even more so for the funeral.
My grandma's lifelong friend gave her life story and we heard several stories when she young how she should have died and she didn't.
I sang the Olive Tree and Jordan sang I Come to the Garden.
I was enjoying listening to him sing so much I forgot to go up an octave on the third verse.
All in all it was a nice funeral.
Afterward we drove half way across town for the burial. We were blessed with clouds that day so it wasn't so deathly hot. My grandma's plot is right next to her sister-laws right under a nice shade tree. The cemetery was really nice with lots and lots of grass.
Dad gave the dedicatory prayer and then the kids wanted to put flowers in the casket.
The kids wanted to stand really close
Sisters
Leinbach women
Grandma Alice's posterity
plus great grandchildren and grandpa
He did pretty well for the circumstances
Saying goodbye
We'll never understand the reason for things happening in our lives, but there is a purpose behind it.
We thought my uncle would die first, but I believe grandma went first so she would be able to welcome him when he got there.
That's another story.
We love you grandma!!
We drove back to the church for a family luncheon.
The kids loved the jello salads.
The luncheon was pretty typical, pretty quiet.
We all drove to the Rushforth's afterwards to rest.
Jordan needed a nap so he could drive home.
We got all the kids situated and Kim, Kevin, Clay and I drove down the road to visit Walt in the hospital.
He had a port and bandage over his head and it was all shaved, but he seemed ready to talk to us.
He knew everything that was going on in our lives and we got to meet Juliana and hear how they met and started dating.
Juliana has been very devoted to Walt.
She slept by his side in an uncomfortable hospital chair every night for three months.
And then got up and went to work. Never complaining.
Walt was very upbeat and kept mentioning he was going to beat the cancer.
It was so good to see him!
We had to get back to our family so we said our goodbyes and drove back.
Sharon made a huge dinner with many dishes to choose from.
After we ate, we Keith's packed up the car and parted ways to head back to Anthem.
The first plan was for only me and the baby to go to the funeral.
I'm sure glad things worked out so we all could go!
We got home before midnight and put the kids right to bed.
Another adventure was about to begin the next day.
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