His name was George Hayes, and was knows as "Papa Hayes" to Gracie, his 21 month old grand-daughter. He is survived by his wife, Theresa, and his son Marland (Betsy), and his daughter Sarah (Jason). Sarah is my sister-in-law and one of my very closest friends. This was so hard for me to hear. One of the first things I thought of was the painting Sarah had done recently that she planned on giving him for Christmas. George wouldn't get to see it-and I knew he would have loved it and been so proud of Sarah, too.He was creative, and always enjoyed helping Sarah and Jason with things around their house (he painted every room in their house with Sarah one time). He was a very strong Christian and involved in his church. He was a very kind man-a great encourager to his family and friends, and will be missed so much. I have included a link to his obituary on the right side of the page.
I was planning to go to Alabama the weekend after Thanksgiving to visit my grandfather (my mother's dad). I went home a day early (Thursday) to see Sarah. I didn't realize that my grandfather was so sick. He was put into hospice care that same Thursday.
Noah and I did have a good time with Sarah and Gracie, and were able to get his first pair of shoes with his Gran on Friday. It is hard to live life "normally" when you feel so sad at times. It's almost like I think I shouldn't do things that would make me happy because I should feel sad when someone passes away or is very sick. However, I and my family have hope because of our faith. We know that George is not lost, but in a very wonderful place called Heaven because of his faith in Jesus. I still hurt for Sarah, though, because I know she will always miss him.
On a different note, I had a wonderful visit with my grandfather (PaPa). He recognized me and Noah, and stayed awake for our whole visit-which was a pleasant surprise since it was several hours long. He was very weak, and wasn't even able to put his arms around me to give me a hug, but I hugged him. I was able to tell him that I loved him very much, and that he always made me feel special and loved. I read to him out of my Bible (Psalms 103, 23, 91, and John 14 and 15, as well as the Christmas story from Luke 2). Before we left, I was able to pray for him and Grandmom and ask God to bless them and to impress upon them how much we love him/them. It was a tender moment that I will always cherish. I love my grandparents so very much.
In an effort to be a little uplifting at the end of this post, I am including some pictures from the weekend. Noah is always "cheerful medicine" for all of us. He is such a blessing! God gives good gifts. It is so important to cherish your time with your family while they are with you and to make the most of the time you have with them. I thank God for my family-in Alabama and in Texas.
This is my precious PaPa. Actually, he used to always call me "Precious." That was my name as far as he was concerned-for as long as I can remember. He was a great man, and was loved by many people in the community (Northport, Alabama). He passed away around 11:45pm on Tuesday, December 11, 2007. Ryan and I were able to make it to his bedside at 11:15pm that night after 5 hours of traveling (delays from bad weather and then driving from Birmingham to Northport). Everyone said he was waiting on us to get there. He wasn't able to speak with his words, but I know he knew we were there, and that we loved him. I will be so happy to see him again one day. I created a link to his obituary (that my dad wrote) on the right side of the page.
