Death and Heaven

I (Erin) grew up with a dad who spoke of death often.  We were reassured that if something ever happened to him, that we should not be sad.  He was going to the place he longed for the most.  He would rather be with Jesus in heaven, than anywhere else on earth.  His dad (Granddaddy Hilley) had a near-death experience at a young age (early 40's), and told Non, my dad, and Faith that if he was presented the chance again, that he wouldn't be coming back to earth.  When he dropped dead of a heart attack at age 47, everyone knew he was where he wanted to be.  Nonny even went through a period of time where she was angry with him for leaving her here with "life" to do on her own.  Later, she realized and admitted that Granddaddy's death resulted in an intimate relationship with Jesus that she may never have had if he had lived.  Because of all of this, my dad doesn't fear death.  Instead, he looks at it peacefully and eagerly.  Not with a death wish, but a longing for home.  He raised me to think and talk about death in a similar way...and I guess I am now passing that along to my children.  

 Eve is mesmerized by death and heaven.  Below are a few of our conversations about the topic.  

1)  I was about to wake the little kids up from their naps, and wanted to spend a few quiet minutes with Eve before the chaos got out of bed.  I walked into the playroom and sat down on a big, comfy chair and asked Eve to come sit in my lap.  She was eager to tell me what she had been doing.  

Eve - "You see that chair over there?" She pointed to the window where she had placed a small folding chair. 

Me - "Yes."

Eve - "Well, before you came in here, I was sitting in that chair looking up in the sky and talking to God.  I told him that if he was ready for me to go to heaven, then I was ready to go."

I was filled with so many emotions.  Shock, worry, joy, and peace ... all wrapped up into one. 

2)  I was holding baby Titus (about 3 weeks old) at the beach house one afternoon.  All of the kids came up talking and cooing at him.  Eve approaches us and says, "Mom, did you know that I will probably be dead by the time Baby Titus is 10?"

3)  On the way to church one morning, Eve announces that she will be the first one of our 4 kids to "die and go to heaven".  She went on to mention that the first one to be born out of my tummy was probably going to be the first one to die.  I took this time to explain that sometimes that is how God works, but sometimes it isn't.  I believe that God has assignments for all of us, and when our assignments have been completed, he allows us to leave earth and go to heaven.  

4)  On our way to the pool one afternoon, I was on the phone with my sister who was telling me about a 3 year old little boy that had died the previous night.  Her husband was called to the scene when the family called 911.  They attempted to resuscitate him multiple times, but there was nothing they could do.  I guess my response to that story had Eve intrigued, because when I hung up the phone, Eve says, "mom, why did you say 'oh my goodness' and 'that is terrible'?" I didn't want to go into the story, so i tried to brush her off by saying, "Yaya was just telling me a story about a little boy."  Eve says, "did he die?"  ... uh ... "Yes," I stutter.  Eve immediately bursts out with "Oh, well that isn't sad!  Those parents should be happy!"  "Why, Eve?"  "Because he went to heaven.  I mean, isn't going to heaven a good thing?  Why would you be sad?  The next time you hear about someone that dies, you need to say, 'oh yay!  now they get to see Jesus in heaven!'"

She is right, isn't she??  We miss them on earth, but do we really wish they would come back?  do we think they would chose to come back if they could? 

**A note to my children when mommy dies*** please don't be sad for me.  I love each of you immeasurably!  You have changed my life in so many ways, and I am so BLESSED to have been your mommy.  Use what God has given you and give it back to Him.  Whatever you do, do it unto Him.  Choose your spouse wisely.  It is so important that you have a mate that works beside you and with you, and has the same goals and dreams that you have.  I cannot wait to see you, kiss you, hug, you and listen to you again.  I love you, each one of you, with my whole heart.  Lean into Jesus, Mommy.  

Epic, the movie

I thought it might be a good idea to take my kids to a summer movie one morning this week.  It only costs $1 per person to get in, and they get the experience of a movie theater!  Sounds like a good idea, right??  

Well, it started out that way.  But somewhere between the chairs closing up on Ellie and Coleman's little legs, the beggings to go to the potty "before I tee tee in my PANTIES", the one bazillion snacks passed up and down the row-accompanied by Clara screaming, "i spilled some of it on the floor", Coleman peeking his head in between the chairs in front of us and eating all of the M&Ms that have ever fallen on a movie theater floor...I decided it may be best to wait until NEXT year to try this again.  Wow.  I was exhausted.  

Baby Titus

There is a new celebrity in town ... I'm not sure if you've heard of him or not.  His name is Baby Titus.  Eve, Clara, Ellie, and Coleman are completely and utterly SMITTEN.  He was born on May 8.   Kristen (Tay Tay) has been so sweet to let each of the kids have special time with him. 

Boomer

My kids love him.  They talk about him ALL. OF. THE. TIME.  

It is precious and annoying, all at the same time.  

Ellie LOVES the idea of him, but isn't THINKING about getting close enough for a hug.  Eve and Clara won't let go of him, and Coleman just wants to give him high fives and throw the ball to him.  

Ellie's Mysterious Illness

We have one tough Ellie Hope at our house.  We had the stomach bug pass through our house one weekend where mom, Coleman, Ellie and Eve all had a small touch of it.  Pretty miserable.  A week later, Ellie began throwing up pretty violently and frequently.  I took her in to the ER just to get it checked out before we ventured down to Blackshear for the week.  The doctor on duty assured me that she had the stomach bug.  He gave her some anti-nausea medicine and was confident that she'd be ready to travel in a day or two.  On the way home from the ER, she puked the entire way home.  She was miserable all night and all of the following day.  She settled down enough for us to consider driving to Blackshear the next day.  About an hour into our trip, she started vomiting again.  We called the pediatric surgery team again, and they asked us to get her to the nearest ER.  Knowing that I only wanted her to be seen at MCG, we continued on our trip to Blackshear to drop Eric and the other kids off, and Ellie and I packed back up in the van and drove back to Augusta.  I practically forced them to admit us (I just KNEW something was wrong with my baby).  They did an ultrasound, X-rays, urine sample, blood sample, rectal exam.  All came back normal, and pointed back to the stomach bug.  

BUT, I knew that she had been very sick for 4 days at this point, with no fever, and no one else in our family feeling sick.  It didn't add up to me.  They admitted us, and agreed to monitor her over the next 48 hours.  Of course, under drs watch, there was no more vomiting.  :)  That's just how it is when mom is pretty adamant something is wrong!  They discharged us on Wednesday with a diagnosis of a UTI.  I was in shock.  So thankful that it wasn't anything more dangerous with all of Ellie's intestinal issues; but I was definitely not expecting that. 

Softball Games

The kids are pretty much obsessed with "daddy's softball games" ... 

Coleman always brings a bat and a ball to play golf with, Eve always brings her "money purse" so she can spend every last penny she has at the concession stand, and Clara and Ellie run, giggle, and holler to get dad's attention every second they get.  It is a fun and free way to spend our Tuesday and Thursday nights.  

Fripp Island 2014

As always, Fripp is so much fun!  This year, we chose to stay in a home that was oceanfront... although the walk was pretty LONG, the view was awesome.  The accommodations were fantastic!  It was a 6 bdrm, 6 bath home, with a nice deck and big kitchen area.  Great memories were made, and the cousins continue to grow closer and closer.  Here are a few pics from that trip.