Mom's Final Celebration

This post is in honor of Mom's final, earthly celebration!!! Many of our family and friends were not able to attend, so I hope this post will allow them to see a little bit of what we experienced on that day. --She fought long and hard for 14+ years, it was finally her time to go Home! Mom started her long illness back in 1994, beginning with breast cancer. It was just a month or so before Jerry and I were married, that she had a double mastectomy and said good-bye to cancer (or so she thought). She was so worried about how she would look for our wedding and what people would think of her wig. We told her "don't worry about what other people think, you look great and you are beating this cancer thing"! We called her first wigs, her "Elvis" wigs because they looked liked some of Elvis' hair-do's : ) We've sure had fun over the years modeling in those silly wigs, and were sure ready to say good-bye to them as her hair began to grow back. She ALWAYS hated wearing her wig, along with her glasses, her teeth and so on. She just didn't think they needed to be a part of her "ward-robe" 24/7, LOL! --Her cancer went into full remission until 9 years later and then she ended up getting it in her back, which was very painful for her. She then was in remission again, until March of 2006. At this point, she was told she had liver cancer and that with treatment she had a 1-3 years chance of living. She loved life and loved living, so she started back on the chemo once again. She continued her treatment until just a few months ago when she started to become more and more sick and more and more weak. The doctor told her he was going to take her off of it and give her a break, I think that was his way of saying the treatments were no longer going to help (of course that is just my thinking). She did start to feel some better and was starting to eat a little bit more, but then she started taking a turn for the worse. There was at least one other time in July that we were told to "come home quick, Mom isn't doing well", and then she snapped out of it again and seemed to be doing some better. She was a fighter, she was so strong and wanted to keep living! It was on the weekend of my niece's wedding (July 26th), that we received another call saying; "Mom isn't doing well again, don't put your coming home off too long". We then jumped in the car and headed to MI, that evening. When we arrived, sure enough, Mom was not doing well at all. We all expected her to live only a few days, but...she started fighting again and lived over a week beyond what we expected. I am SO THANKFUL for being able to be with her, for her final week! As I look back on it, it was only God that helped us through that week, it was a very LONG and stressful week! She kept us all entertained in her final days, by saying cute things such as: "I want pickles", "I sure did give you lots of spankin's when you were little", "I want to go home, where's Dad?", "he must be building something" (when she heard Dad pounding a hammer against the wall). She sang with us and we sang to her, over and over as she seemed to like it, she even clapped her hands for us once : ) All in all, I am thankful that the Lord allowed me to be there for her and He knows I did my BEST in caring for her! Yes we will all miss her, but we are thankful that she is no longer in pain and she is in the presence of Jesus! We love you Mom and hope you enjoyed your final celebration! --We would like to thank everyone that was able to join us for this celebration, it meant a lot to us to know you were there and cared! Also, we still have a site up in Mom's honor, if you wish to post a comment in the "guest book", you may. Go to: lmshattuck.com.

Mom, you looked so nice! Dad was so proud of the way you looked for your celebration!

The kids and Dad seeing Mom for the first time after she passed away.
Dad saying his final good-bye to his bride of 54 years!

Dad & Mom with us kids:

L to R: Mary, Doug, Darlene, Janiece & Shirley

All of us kids sang at her celebration; "I'm Too Near Home"!

Some of the grand kids and 11 of the great-grandchildren sang "Jesus Loves Me", this was the last song she sang with us!

Dad wanted all of his grandsons to carry the casket. Since Keegan and Maverick were too little to actually do any carrying, the funeral director suggested that Keegan lead the casket and that Maverick be carried next to it.

All ready to head to the cemetery. She was laid to rest at the Salt River Cemetery, in Shepherd. Dad was the care-taker for 20 years at this cemetery so it was
neat to be able to lay her to rest there.

Mom's final resting place

The "casket bearers" were: Tim Petty, Bob Petty, Chris Petty, Joe Petty, Nick Petty, Talon Cooper, Keegan Cooper, Maverick Baker and Mark Bendele (a close family friend).

I am a "details kind of gal", so I wanted these pictures so
I could remember the details on Mom's casket.
Dad did a wonderful job in picking the casket out!

We allowed the kids to pick some flowers from the bouquets. They all thought it was great that they got to have some of Nana's special flowers!

We realized the night of the viewing that Mom's name was spelled wrong on the programs. They had it spelled Marilyn and it is Maryln. I made a mistake and told them that it didn't have an "I" in it, so they just dropped the "I" and didn't correct it : ( Needless to say, it was too late for them to correct it on the cover for the casket. Oh well, that is the way it goes.

2008-2009 School Year Begins

Well, Friday was the first day of the 2008-2009 school year! It seems to come earlier and earlier each year, ugh. The boys weren't too thrilled about going, but I guess I can't blame them, I use to be the same way when it came to the end of the summer. I know once they get back in the groove of things, it will be just fine : ) They have a new principal this year, Mr. Ron Coleman and Keegan has a new teacher, Mrs. Shelly Coleman. They seem like VERY NICE people and we are SO EXCITED to have them join our school and church! We have been warning the boys all summer (since we knew the Coleman's were coming), that there were bound to be new rules, but also would come a lot of new ideas and FUN too! We are totally and completely behind the Coleman's and we know that they are not here by accident, God sent them our way! After looking and praying for 3 years, God saw fit to answer our prayers! So often we want Him to answer our prayers on our timing, but we have to trust Him to do it in His timing! Welcome Coleman's and best of luck in this 2008-2009 school year! -- P.S. Just wanted to say a BIG THANK YOU to Mr. Johnson for the wonderful job he did during his years in the principal's position! You did your best and we appreciate that very much!

I think this sign and the flowers look so pretty out front of the school!

For quite awhile we didn't have a sign and it looked so drab!

My big 2nd grader!

Keegan in front of his locker, he loves having his own locker!

It has kind of been a tradition of mine, to make the boys hold up fingers to represent the grade they are going in. Normally they don't mind doing this at home on the front porch (where I normally take their "first day" pictures), but this year since we were running late I had them do it at their desk. They weren't too pleased with me when I told them to do it, HA! I guess we will have to go back to the front porch next year for pictures : )

Megan & LaMorris' Wedding - 7/26/08

Since we headed to MI the day after the wedding, I never got a chance to get this posted, so here goes. My niece Megan got married on Saturday, July 26th, in Tinley Park, IL. Meg is my sister Shirley's only daughter. After being raised in little, ole New Castle, Megan headed off to Olivet Nazarene College, where she met Mr. Crawford : ) After waiting for two years for her Daddy's approval, LaMorris and Megan got to go on their first date. How many guys out there would wait on a Daddy's approval now days??? It was true LOVE and LaMorris wanted to make sure her parents approved of them dating. It wasn't very long before he popped the question and we all were witnesses of their wedding day. The church was HUGE and very pretty! Both his and her pastors had a part in the ceremony and did a nice job. There were 12 little "Rosebuds" (children) that were a part of the wedding party. As many of you know, we have a ton of little ones in our family and Megan didn't know where to draw the line, so...she had all of them in the wedding : ) They all did a very good job! After the wedding we all enjoyed a wonderful meal; toss salad, mashed potatoes and gravy, ham, fried chicken, green beans, corn and rolls, YUM! The cake was also wonderful, it almost melted in your mouth. We headed home very tired from the days events, but were thankful for the beautiful day God gave them! --Mom and Dad weren't able to attend so that made all of us a little sad, but we understood why they couldn't come.

The inside of the church -- this is the L-O-N-G aisle she walked down

The reception hall, which is also the entrance to the church.

It was absolutely beautiful and HUGE!

Kelsey (Meg's friend) and Malachi (LaMorris' friend) singing "When God Made You", they did an AWESOME job! They sounded like a younger BB & CC!

The gangs all here -- all 12 of them!

Little Mr. Karson, he's my "gum buddy"!

Every time he sees me, he runs to me and hugs me and asks "you dot dum"? (translation: you got gum : )

Lavelle & Maddy - the Ring Bearer & Flower Girl

Kallee with Karson followed by the rest of the gang; Colton, Luke, Jared, Javin, Josiah, CJ, Keegan, Becca, Shekinah & Talon

Here comes the bride...

She looked so beautiful!

Her daddy pulling back her veil before he placed her in the hands of LaMorris.

Megan & LaMorris saying their vows

The Parent's Prayer

Mr. & Mrs. LaMorris Crawford

Keegan & Maddy Mae

Stud Muffins - Nick & Keegan

Me & my nephew Nick

Mommy & Kallee

Little Miss Princess wearing the dress Mamaw Cooper made for her.

Once we got her to pose, she didn't want to stop : )

Their wedding cake, made by a friend of theirs. All of us guests got to enjoy all different flavors; carrot, chocolate, vanilla, butter cream, strawberry, etc. etc. Plus...she had several different cheese cakes too, YUMMY! Her mom had her wedding cake "couple" (figurine down in front) special ordered : )

Father-Daughter dance

LaMorris goin' in for the garter : )

Meg & Kallee gettin' down

Meg giving Kallee a kiss-a-roo

Stan & Shirley with their baby girl - Megan

Megan promised Talon when he was just a little boy, that he could be in her wedding. She lived up to her word and included him in the wedding party!

One Week Ago...

One week ago today, Mom went to be with Jesus! Wow, I can't believe it has been a week already, but it has. I'm sure she is enjoying all the splendor that only Heaven contains, something that we can not fathom. I wish I could say I haven't had my sad moments, but I have. I cried myself to sleep on Tuesday night knowing that we would never be with her again, here on earth at least. When we all went out to eat last Saturday night, I looked down the table to see Dad, and no Mom : ( I felt kind of guilty sitting there having a nice time, and it had only been one day since we said our final goodbyes to her. I then missed her in church on Sunday morning, it just wasn't the same without her there. When it was time to leave to head home, it was really hard to kiss Dad goodbye. While doing every day chores, I begin to think of her and that we will NEVER see or hear from her and I begin to cry. I know that time will help heal our broken hearts, but until then... I know she is in Heaven and is no longer in pain (for that I am VERY grateful!!!) but I'm still human and I miss her. Since returning home, I have received several nice cards, thanks sooo much to all of you that have sent your words of encouragement, they mean so much! Also, thanks to some dear friends of ours (Dave & Lynette) for the beautiful woven, layered throw. I haven't found the perfect spot for it, but I'm sure I will. In closing, here is the verse that is on the throw.

I'm In Heaven
Now I'm in heaven,
And angels
Are near;
God is my comfort
And dries
Every tear.
And although
For a while,
We must be apart;
Remember I'll always
Live on in your heart.

By: R. Fogle Dicksons

She's In Heaven

Hi Everyone! Sorry I haven't kept you posted on this site much, but I haven't had access to a computer much. Just wanted you to know, Mom reached Heaven's gates at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday evening, August 5th. She is now rejoicing with all her family and friends that have gone on before her; her Mom, her aunts and uncles, her SIL Markey, Bro. & Sis. Fritz, Connie Kelly and so on. Her nurse Karen was in to check on her that afternoon and she told us our time with her was very short. We called Dad in from outside (he had some hoeing to do in the garden :) and she gave him the news. He did really well with the news, he knew his bride was just about to reach her final destination. Dad has a very square head on his shoulders, he thinks very clearly and knows when to accept reality. He told me this morning, as he motioned towards Mom's bed "that isn't living and we know Mama wouldn't want to be this way very long".

She went very peaceful with all of us kids and Dad around her. Her brothers, her sister and her SIL were there as well. We all sang her quietly into Heaven, we were singing her the "Amazing Grace" medley that we have sang for years, when she took her last breath. We were on the part that says "and when the battles over, we shall wear a crown..." I felt that was a very appropriate part for us to be on. Of course several of us weren't singing, for the tears of sadness and happiness were consuming us. Mom has fought cancer on and off for 14 years, beginning with breast cancer in 1994, then bone cancer 2003 and liver cancer in 2005. She was extremely strong through the whole process, she didn't ever want to talk about dying, she LOVED living! We know she is TRULY LIVING this morning and will continue to live on forever, she is now with her Jesus! I know all of us have many sad days ahead, but it is such a comfort to know that she is in Heaven and that we have a great reunion day ahead!

Her viewing is on Thursday, August 7th from 2-8:oo p.m. and on Friday, August 8th from noon-2:00 p.m. Her funeral is on Friday, at 2:oo p.m. where we will give our Mama her final earthly celebration! These will all take place at my sister's church, the Central Michigan Free Methodist Church, as we knew Mom's chuch wasn't nearly big enough.

One more interesting little thing, she passed away on Bro. and Sis. Fritz's anniversary, she was a member of "their church" for 40+ years. When I heard that I thought, WOW isn't God's timing great! She probably started singing with them and was enjoying a piece of anniversary cake, their daughter said : ) I will leave you with a poriton of a song, written by a church friend of ours, David Gilbert (go to holinesscds.com for the rest of the words and to purchase a cd).

The Long Awaited Home
"Now she's in Heaven
No more tears will ever dim her eyes
She's with the Savior
Where no pain will ever make her cry
She's by the Tree of Life
It's leaves have healed her of all fear and strife
Now she's in Heaven her long awaited home"
*Thanks Dave for allowing me to use this for this post!