We'll Miss you Papaw

Four generations of Durall men (Rod, Papaw, Kian, and Jamie)

Last Friday night we received a call from Jamie's dad that Papaw (Jamie's grandpa) was not doing well and they weren't sure he would make it through the night. Saturday we woke up and started packing and preparing for a 6 hour drive to KY in the hopes we would get there before he passed on. Thankfully he held on and we were able to spend some time with him as he was in and out of a morphine induced rest.

We had prepared Kian for what he might see in the hospital and Jamie and I gadged the situation before we brought him back to see Papaw. When we went back he was asleep. When we brought Kian back and he was told Kian had arrived Papaw's eyes shot open so he could see him. Kian was pretty scared by the crackly sounds Papaw's chest was making and his coughing, but he would watch from outside the room. I know it meant a lot to Papaw to have Kian there and to hear him say 'I love you' and I hope it's something that Kian appreciates later on in his life.

Papaw passed away on Wednesday morning. The funeral is today. Since it was another long drive and Kian would have to miss school, we decided that Kian and I would stay back.

Kian is having a bit o a hard time understanding what this all means. We lost two of our pets within a matter of months almost two years ago. He still asks me questions about them - like if they will come back since they have new bodies in heaven. He also asked Jamie the night before he left for the funeral when he would be back from heaven (so cute!). It's so difficult to explain on the spirit lives on and the body is broken so we don't need it anymore. I have a feeling we will have more questions coming, but for now he seems to be doing really well with everything.

March Happenings

Our March was somewhat event filled. Of course on St. Patrick's Day we all wore green and had Irish fare for dinner. I prepared for St. Patrick's Day with Kian by checking out a lot of Ireland related stories from the library. It was fun trying out my terrible Irish brogue. And we even came across an ancient tale that has a Cian in it (Cian is the Gaelic spelling of Kian - said the same). Kian thought that was super cool! He kept saying, "So what happened to me?" meaning the character in the book. Super cute!

A few weeks after St. Pat's day Kian's spring break started. Kian and I made a road trip up to Wisconsin to see my family. We got to hang out with my sister a lot during our time there and Kian got in a lot of good time with his Grandpa and Grandma and even their little dog Hannah. We ate Tom's Drive In food at least three times ;) A girl has to get her fill of friend cheese curds! And we discovered the awesomeness of Monkey Joe's. I SO wish we had one in town. It's basically a place filled with different bounce house type deals. We went there two days in a row for 4 hours! Kian had a BLAST! It will be a must-do when we go up to Wisconsin.

Kian also received his report card. He is progressing as normal and the areas that he needs work in are areas that were no shock (paying attention, following directions...of course most of that will come in time). Mr. Keepes told us that Kian is a real joy to have in class. That sometimes he gets in his own little world and starts whistling which gets louder and louder until he's asked to be quiet. And sometimes he starts dancing while walking down the hall - which is a no-no - but pretty darn cute anyway :)