In Loving Memory

 

 

On Sunday, June 7, Seth's Grandpa Ferguson had a stroke.  From there he had some good days and some setbacks but at age 92, he just wasn't going to get back the ability to swallow, communicate or move his right side.  From the hospital he was moved to rehab, but from there it was hospice care.  We visited Great-Grandpa several times through the month of June, making sure to hold hands and to tell him about our days.  Several times, when holding the kids' hands, he wouldn't let go when it was time for someone else to take a turn holding Great-Grandpa's hand.  On the last Sunday in June, we visited for a short time after church and Grandpa was alert and held Emmet's hand.  Then Grandpa moved his hand up to Emmet's bicep, as if to feel his muscles. It was a tender moment and it would be the last that we would see Grandpa alert.  By the end of the week, on the 4th of July, Great-Grandpa Ferguson would be home with the Lord.   

 

 

 

On Tuesday, July 7, we had the visitation for Grandpa Gene.  Seth was able to get the children cleaned up, dressed and to the visitation on time.  I had to fulfill a commitment as a 4-H judge in a neighboring county and was able to be at visitation just as it started. 

A lovely flower arrangement with sunflowers, corn leaves, wheat and roses.

 

 

A plant from our church Bible Study group. 

Flowers from Seth's co-workers/friends at CPS. 

The engraving on the side of the casket. 

Grandma Donna had brought a watch and a bracelet for the girls to wear--they were from Donna's mom, Frances. 

A deck of UNO cards helped keep these cousins entertained for the last hour of the funeral visitation. 

Sorting cards and going over the plans for the funeral. 

The embroidery inside the casket. 

 

 

On Wednesday, July 8, we had the funeral service for Grandpa Gene. 

Eliza is holding hands with Grandpa and Grandma during the prayer service. 

 

Seth's cousin's husband, Brian, gave the message from John 11, about grace from God and how Grandpa exhibited grace by giving away farm implements to missions. 

When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound, and time shall be no more,
And the morning breaks, eternal, bright and fair;
When the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore,
And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.

Refrain:
When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.

 

There was a time of passing out the flowers from the casket arrangement. 

 

And then it seemed like the burial part of the service would be over.  There were A LOT of great-grandchildren (there's 28 in all, but not all were present) hanging around and curiosity got the best of them.  They wanted to seek what happened to the casket next.  They wanted to see it go into the ground. 

And that's exactly what happened next.  The funeral director, with a little help from the great-grandchildren, was able to lower Great-Grandpa into his final resting place. 

That's a lot of kids who are anxious to see how the process worked. 

Eliza took her turn at the crank. 

Ephraim is lowering his great-grandfather into the ground. 

Now Emmet has a turn.  This is likely to be a funeral they won't soon forget. 

Yes, I do believe that Great-Grandpa would have loved the fact that his great-grandchildren were interested in this process and played a part.  Most of them help their parents and grandparents on the farm and are already working and building with their hands.  Great-Grandpa Gene would have been proud.  Maybe Grandpa Gene was feeling Emmet's muscles a week earlier because he knew the task that would be ahead of them.  He left a legacy of working hard and the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren have big shoes to fill.   

 

Back at the church, we enjoyed a luncheon with family and friends. 

And we snapped a quick family photo. 

We will miss Grandpa Gene, but we know he's in heaven.  And at age 92, he lived a full life. 

Tornado Destruction & Clean Up

A tornado tore through the area the weekend of Father's Day and did some damage to Van Zante farms.  The most damage was to Seth's grandparents' Century Farm.  Seth's uncle and cousin have their cattle operation there now.  It was Saturday evening when we first traveled over for to see if we could help.  We helped with a few things but most of the work would wait until Sunday morning daylight. 

All the kids were a great help with the tree limbs. 

This is what remained of the silo and barn. 

One of Grandma's trees pulled up by the roots, right by the house, and yet, no damage to the house. 

The shed had some damage as well. 

Power lines were toppled over.  We had some extra food items for Sunday lunch so I walked to this power crew and offered them sandwiches, fruit and drink.  They were most appreciative and said that "no one does this for us, we'll have to come back here more often."  Well, let's hope they don't have to come back unless it is maintenance related. 

Just another reminder to all of us that it doesn't have to take much to be a blessing to others. 

It doesn't take much to be the hands and feet of Jesus by offering a sandwich, picking up a tree limb or just offering your presence. 

That's Seth on top of the combine.  They're trying to make the wall and rafters fall off and away from the combine.

My dad, Seth and Eliza enjoying a break. 

Grandpa Arlin, Eden, Paul, Eliza & Grandpa Harold hitching a ride in the pick up after picking up tin in the neighbor's corn field.  We needed to get it picked up before the corn grew to 10 feet tall!

 

"But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy.  Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you." 

Psalm 5:11

The Fox and the Chickens

We've had a fox on the yard.  Ugh.  It all started around Mother's Day.  I noticed that a chicken or two was missing at sundown when I locked them up.  And then we had the horrible Sunday afternoon when we discovered two dead chickens, including Sir Squawky Pants, our rooster.  That was a sad afternoon.  It was also the afternoon that we determined we had to do something.  And that something was to enclose the coop. 

 

It isn't fancy.  We used all materials that we had on hand.  With me as the architect (and I use that term loosely), the boys and I set to work.  It was more of a cut and measure as we go type of deal. 

My dad came over the next day to help us finish it up and to design a door for the enclosure.  We worked in the rain to get it finished.  I couldn't afford to lose any more chickens. 

 

Because we had a fox on the loose, we also bought some fox traps.  They're quite large and the children enjoyed the boxes for several days!

They really were a hoot in the boxes.  I had to look out and just smile even if I was frustrated that we had to buy the traps in the first place. 

I have two chickens that have survived a fox bite.  Both were pretty wounded and you could see their innards.  But they've lived and we call them Survivor 1 and Survivor 2.  In fact, now their feathers are all grown back.  I'm not sure if they're laying eggs or not, but we'll keep them around since they've been through a lot. 

We know that one or two of the foxes in the area have been "taken care of" but we saw another one here in July.  So, the chickens stay locked up some of the days and other times I let them out and we take our chances.  I am down to 36 layer hens but we plan to get more chicks later on this summer or early fall.