I truly believe that words are inadequate for today. The word Thanks cannot express adequately the appreciation those who gave their life for our freedom deserve. It does not make up for all those who have served or are still serving have sacrificed for country. They deserve our respect and gratitude every day.

Today, my heart holds close my grandfather, Leland Nobles, veteran of WWII who served in the South Pacific. He was a simple man who never talked about all that he did. Here is part of the eulogy that I wrote a few weeks ago.

He worked as a teamster for his father before entering in the United States Army in 1943. He became a Private First Class in the 111th Infantry Regiment serving in the Western Pacific during World War II. One of the most familiar stories from his time overseas is how he ended up with a pet monkey that acted more like a watch dog than a banana eating, tree swinging chimp. He ended up receiving a Combat Infantry Badge, a WWII Victory Medal, a Theater Medal, and various others awards.


 In 2006, he was honored by the state of Pennsylvania for his service during World War II.  One of the last memories the family has before Leland went into the nursing home was his participation in the Memorial Day Parade where he proudly rode in a convertible as a WWII Veteran. It was that weekend that the family found out how impressive some of the metals Leland had received really were. The WWII museum provided him with a uniform to wear and was able to explain to the family the significance of Leland’s achievements.

Leland led a full life and enjoyed his 90th Birthday surrounded by his family a little over a month ago. On the evening of May 11th surrounded by many of his family members, Leland left this earth and came face to face with Jesus and this is the comfort we as a family find.

First of all...I promise to get back to the Made to Crave weekly blogs soon but life has caused some big interruptions. I am still trying to catch my breath from all that has gone on this last month.

Living in the Adirondacks, we often don't see spring until much later than those in the south. This year, we didn't have a spring. We had rain, flooding, and cold weather but not spring. Summer has come upon us all of the sudden. I am not sure when it happened but we are planting our garden and playing in the back yard already. Just like spring slipped by, I feel like May slipped by without even being aware of it.

Part of this was because of the unexpected cold virus that decided to invade our house for over two weeks. By the time it was done, we all had been hit with it to some degree. In the week after we were hit with Jack's head injury, the death of my grandfather, and Emma's heart procedure.

Jack's head wound was not tramatic for me but it was definitely an adventure. We were over at our neighbor's house where Jack was playing outside with their son, Theigen. I was working with Kandi in the kitchen getting dinner ready, when I heard Jack scream. Kandi's husband carried Jack inside, and I literally saw a hole in his head. He fell and hit his head on a rock that was sharp enough to create a puncture wound. I could see down to the bone and there was very little blood, which is unusual with a head wound. Needless to say, off to urgent care we went. He was a trooper and left covered in stickers and tattoos along with his bandaged head.

A few days later, I heard from Mom that Grandpa was not expected to make it through the night. He had been having quite a few close calls in the last few months and we knew it wouldn't be long. He was able to celebrate his 90th birthday with the family in March and so it was bittersweet news. He passed away about 15 minutes later.

We were thankful that he was not suffering any more, especially as his quality of life had definitely decreased, but it still is saying goodbye. The one comfort I found was in the fact that I know he is in heaven. The time with family celebrating my grandfather's life was precious but definitely very busy, as I helped with the Obiturary, Euology, and video slide show. I was honored to be able to share at the funeral and grateful to honor his service to our country and his heritage he left through our family.

Emma's procedure was two days after the funeral, so we had to travel back from Pennsylvania right after the funeral. Tuesday we headed out to Albany Med. at 6:30 am to prepare for the long day ahead. It was a few hours before she actually had the procedure done and we were at her beside. She was frustrated that she was unable to move but bounced back quickly and by the next day had decided that walking was much more fun than crawling.

Having the stress of waiting both for Grandpa to pass and for Emma's procedure to be done and over with has taken an emotional toll on me that I am not bouncing back from as quickly as I had hoped. It is also taking a toll on my diet...I am really having a hard time not just eating whatever. Actually, I feel as if right now I have no self control. I don't know how to change it right now and until I'm out of this funk I'm not sure I have the energy to try!

On a brighter note...my sister was on the local news for her ministry on Mercy Ships!! I am so proud of her!