I don’t think I mentioned it in any of my previous posts, but my Grandpa E. was scheduled to have surgery on Thursday of last week to repair damaged blood vessels and increase bloodflow to his lower body.  However, due to some miscommunication, the surgery was post-poned and took place on Monday evening instead.  He came through surgery just fine, however, suffered a heart attack early this morning after complaining of the severe pain. 

He was kept on life support for a brief time, until it appeared that he was going into cardiac arrest again, when the family made the decision to follow his wishes and let him pass peacefully.  As I write, a thousand thoughts are coursing through my head.  I think of all the things I will miss about him and all the things he will miss.  My heart goes out to my grandma, my dad, my aunts, uncles and the countless others who touched and were touched by Grandpa’s life.  My constant prayer is to see him again in heaven someday! 

Here are a couple of pictures of “Great” Grandpa Ewing and Calder.  We love you and miss you!!

I can’t believe he’s already five months old!  I don’t think I added it to my milestones post yet, but a week ago today, Calder started rolling over with greater enthusiasm.  We spent this afternoon with our friends Kyle, Jenny and Bryant and then headed home, where Calder promptly fell asleep – about a mile from the driveway!  After one last meal and a little snuggle time, he was zonked for the night. 

Now I need to be turning in too, so I can get up super early to get a little work done before Jenny and I head to Piece of Mine to do some photo mosaics!

Originally uploaded by cornwellamandal

On Saturday, we visited the Vietnam Memorial Moving Wall at the VFW National Home for Children. Having never traveled to Washington D.C. I appreciated the opportunity to experience it in this capacity at the very least. My aunt Julie works at the home and has kept us informed about the schedule of events surrounding the wall’s visit.

In fact, I got chills when I realized that the loud fighter jets I heard from my friend Emily’s house on Thursday afternoon, were the very same jets that tipped their wings in salute to those fallen soldiers at the opening ceremony that same afternoon.

It was so very powerful watching friends, families and veterans pay their respects. The flowers, angel pins and other momentos that lined the wall were smalls signs of remembrance for these men and women. With a brother in the military, this really made me think about the sacrifice these thousands of families made.