Pretty 'n' Pink

The Grandpa Quilt

I have been blessed with in-laws that I both love and respect; and so, I miss my father-in-law very much. In the eighteen months of so before his passing I had really gotten to know him. With Sherie off to Turkministan Dave became a regular at our dinner table and in our family time. He played Wii on rainy days, wrestled with the girls, shot with David in the backyard and had wonderful conversations with Adriel and I about life and God and the kids.

After Dave died I decided that it might help David if he had something to comfort him and remind him of grandpa so I asked Sherie for any shirts that the boys hadn't taken so that I could make a quilt. She generously brought over a whole bag of clothes. Never-mind that I had never been interested in quilting or that I had no idea what I was doing, if my boy needed a quilt I was going to figure it out!

As a side note, it is amazing the things I have learned because my kids needed me to learn them. That is a post for another day though.

It turns out that I had enough shirts for multiple quilts so I decided that David's quilt should not be the first one. I didn't want to make all of the mistakes on his, so I made a trial quilt. I had a lot of help from the quilting moms at The Well Trained Mind board who tirelessly answered my questions and gave detailed instructions.

Making this quilt was, by turns, fun, challenging and full of grief. The shirts smell like Dave and they reminded me that when we saw him we all got great big hugs. The kids were a great joy to Grandpa Dave and if he ever tired of them we never knew it. He was the kind of person who made you feel better just by being around him and when you talked he really listened.

In honor of this amazing man, here is the first David H. Henderson memorial quilt. The kids call it the "Grandpa Quilt".

Layout

Putting it together

Center squares pieced

Tied and quilted

Mim says "It's nice and snuggly" -

all wrapped up in her Grandpa Quilt

~Christina

Goodbye Dad

Big Questions

This morning I went to the garage for something and Miriam followed me out. The casket is out there and we had explained to Miriam that Grandpa's body would go in there when he died but we had also explained that he would go to heaven to be with Jesus. She asked me "How we get Grandpa's box to heaven?" You could almost see the wheels of her mind turning, contemplating the lack of wings and jet engines. So I explained that while his body would go in there, Grandpa's soul would go to heaven.

How do you explain a soul to a three-year-old?

I tried.

I failed.

She nodded and humored me anyway.

Tonight Mim asked to snuggle and so cuddled on the couch between my girls she asks "How we get Grandpa's soul to heaven?"

Wow. In this day filled with playing outside, cartoons, painting, play-dough and dolly birthday parties her little mind had been turning around the conversation of this morning; trying to figure out what it all meant.

How does a soul get to heaven? I don't know. Do any of us really know?

I told her that Jesus would come and take it to heaven. That sounds reasonable.

How can someone so small ask questions so big?


~Christina

Today I built my dad's casket

Two weeks ago the surgeon stepped into the waiting room and told mom and I that dad was dying and there was nothing more that could be done. A week ago dad returned home from the hospital with help from hospice services. Paul arrived, Sean arrived, and Anna checked in through video chat. We spent a day looking at old slides and reliving times past. Smiles, laughter, tears together.

These are dad's last days here with us. A few more at the most. Time is very short.

Dad's patience, kindness, and selflessness have always moved me. And all the more now. Each time I visit he is weaker, and yet his warm love still shines through the broken body - it is not a false veneer, it is true and it does not break even in his weakest state. He is a Godly man like no other I have met. I will miss him dearly and will look forward to seeing him again when my own time comes.

Today I had the honor of helping build my father's casket. Craftsman Nate Currier expertly led the project, I followed along the process as best I could. My son David also joined in. It is a day that I will remember the rest of my life, and I am thankful to have been able to help create this token for my father.

- Adriel

Of Kids and Cousins

A photo I took this weekend of our kids with their cousins on the Betz side of the family. Left to right - Gabe, Miriam, Sophie, Gracie, Abbie, David.