A Little Catch Up……

These past six months have been hard to say the least.  I flew to Ogden, Utah on September 16, 2013 to be with my mother and father following his surgery.  My cousin, Kyle Brown, met me at the airport and drove me to University Hospital in Salt Lake City.  There I met my mom and sister before going in to see my dad. 

Laile took me into the room and my heart was broken, but I was able to keep composed.  Dad recognized me and his eyes opened wide and he would squeeze my hand.  I kept praying for that moment my entire flight that he would know who I was when I got there and he did.  Answers to my prayers were given to me.

Dad was not in good shape but would look at me and squeeze my hand.   I knew that he loved me very much and was relieved that I had finally arrived to take care of Mom and her needs.  It just seems like he was telling me it was okay for him to go now and progress with his eternal life.  It is hard to explain, but I knew in that moment he was transitioning into his next stage of leaving us. 

On September 17th, Dad was pretty much the same but on September 18th there was a drastic change in him and in my heart I knew he had another stroke.  He stopped using the left hand and was so extremely agitated.  The nurses and doctors never said a word, but I could tell they were concerned and that my father was not coming home.

Mom and I stayed with him during the days and spent the evenings at our trailer.  Days were very long as we watched Dad go downhill.  On September 29th they transferred him to the Utah Specialty Hospital in Provo.  We moved our things to Russel’s home in Goshen and drove back and forth to be with Dad each day.  It was so hard to see him go downhill so fast, but he had more wrong with him than we knew. 

Lewis came up to see us at Russel’s on October 1st and we had a good visit.  We had a meeting with the doctor at 11:00 on the morning of October 2nd.  Mom and I were planning on leaving for La Sal for the weekend to harvest the garden then return back to Pr0vo on Monday or Tuesday.

The doctor came in shortly after 11:00 to talk with Russel, Mom and I.  He told us that Dad had had three strokes so far and “what we saw is what we got” .  It broke our hearts knowing that Dad would never get any better than what he was.  Mom decided that we would go on to La Sal then let him go when we got back.  A voice so strong came to her and said “why are you going to let him suffer four more days?’  She called the nurse back and said that she was ready to let him go now.  They let us wait for Lewis to get there before they started preparing his body for departure of this mortal life.

Russel and Lewis gave him a blessing at 2:00 and immediately he settled down.  The blessing that Lewis gave was so tender and peaceful as he told Dad that it was time for him to be released from his mortal body.  He told Dad that he was a good father and husband and we were honored to be his children.  By 6:09 that evening our precious father left this mortal life to begin his eternal progression.  We each got to say goodbye to our dear father, grandfather and husband.  I was so honored to be standing at the head of his bed, rubbing his snow white hair as he took his last mortal breath. 

There is not a day that goes by that my heart does not ache to see my father.  I miss him so much and on the 1st and 2nd of each month it is hard for me to function sensibly.  I do not wish this loneliness upon anyone.

Our earthly time is so short when you think of the eternal aspect of life.  I am so thankful for my father and the man that he was.  I look forward to seeing him again when my turn comes to go to heaven.  I am trying so hard to live a life of righteousness so I am worthy to live in the presence of those that have gone before me.

Dad, I love you dearly.

Lewis Dale Fuller Feb 28, 1932–Oct 2, 2013

My handsome white haired Daddy passed away on October 2, 2013 at 6:09 pm surrounded by his loving family.  I was privileged to have been with with him for the last two and a half weeks of his life.  As he took his last breath,  I was standing at the head of the bed rubbing his white silky hair. 

His funeral was held on October 11th at the Monticello Utah Stake Center and then burial was held at the Monticello (Blue Mountain) Cemetery.  The funeral was very large and many came to pay their last respects to a man that was their friend, brother, grandpa, father and husband.

Dad was a much loved man amongst his family, friends and community.  His name was well known throughout his beloved San Juan County.

We miss him terribly but know that he is in a much better place and he is preparing the path for us to join him.  Our love for Dad is strong and his influences can be seen daily in the actions of his family.

Here are pictures from the funeral:

  

 

 

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

I have stalled on making this blog and now that it is posted----it makes it official----my Daddy is in heaven.

My Dad

This has been an extremely hard week for the Fuller Family.  My Dad went in for open heart surgery on Friday, Aug 30th.  They put a bovine valve in his heart and all went great.  On Saturday they got him out of bed, stood him up, put him back to bed and things were looking good. 

Suddenly he changed for the worse and the brain team was called in.  He was rushed to their department where it was discovered that there was a blood clot in his brain.  They were able to suction it out.  He had a stroke and we are waiting for the damage that it caused. 

A couple of days ago he was mouthing words and moving both legs, which was a fantastic sign, but then yesterday he slept all day long and is now back to what he was a couple of days ago. 

This has been a set back that is so hard for Mom.  She so faithfully does not leave his side for long periods of time.  I know that she is tired as I can hear it in her voice and see it in her face but her loyalty keeps her going.

We have so many family members and friends that are showing their love for Dad and Mom by their constant out pouring of prayer and thought.  Thanks for you diligence in doing this for my parents.  It is appreciated more than you will ever know.  Friends and family have been a constant at the hospital visiting with Mom and cheering her up.

Mom and Dad have been married for 64 years and in October they will have known each other for 65.  What a legacy they are to our family.   Their love runs true and deep.  It is the Cinderella story of all times.

A picture of true and tender love!!

I love you, my sweet parents. 

Dad, please hurry and wake up.  We miss your sweet voice and your funny jokes.  We miss your hugs and tender kisses.  I am counting the days till I get moved closer to you.  It will be so fun to see you every day.  We will go fishing and walking in the mountains.   We will go riding and counting the deer.  I love you with all my heart and am praying for your recovery constantly.

Our Future Missionary…Elder Canyon Madsen

WOW!!  What a handsome stud this boy is!!!  Canyon or C-man, as I call him,  just had his 11th birthday on Thursday, August 1st.  He is practicing looking the part of a missionary because in 7 years he will be doing this exact thing.  When he gets his mission call, he will be wearing his white shirt, tie and dark pants and riding his bike as he takes the gospel of Jesus Christ to others. 

I love this boy and he has truly been a joy in my life.

Haboob and Monsoons…

Today we got hit with a haboob (strong dusty winds) and a mild monsoon (just a different name for a hard rain storm).  It came in fast, did it’s destruction them left as quickly as it came.  There was lots of thunder, some lighting and really strong winds.

I looked out the window just in time to see my birdbath take off around the side of the house and the garbage in the can go flying off to the neighbor’s house.  Dick went running out to rescue our garbage can and the birdbath and came in to tell me a tree had blown down and was blocking the street.

Here are some pictures of today’s storm.

 

Our house is the one with the white van that you can see.

The wind just pulled the tree out of the ground.

This storm came quick and then left.  The air is now has a clean fragrance after the rain.  Love these Arizona storms but would rather see them than be in them like last year when we got stranded.  Was not a fun afternoon.

New Chair…

This past week I have been working on a project for myself.  This never happens….so this makes me happy.

I was at an event and seen this chair for sale in another booth and I WANTED IT….BADLY.

It was love at first sight and I had a vision going off in my mind of what I was going to do with this chair.  I brought it home and my craft master tighten the rickety chair for me with some glue and clamps.  I washed it down and got it all cleaned up.

I had some fabric that I wanted to make a padded seat with so the craft master got some good plywood from the orange  warehouse store and cut a seat for it.  Since I had lost my staple gun, we had to go to blue warehouse store and buy a new one.

Did you know that the orange store has 3” foam there now?  Way much cheaper than the same thing at the sewing  or craft stores.  SO… I got a sheet of that and cut out the padding for my chair.  3” was to thick so I cut it to 1” and wrapped it with quilt batting to hold everything in place.

I got my seat all done and this is my first time ever trying to upholster anything.  Then my craft master painted the chair a yellow with a brown glazing over it.  Love it!!!

Here is my finished product.

   

I am in love with this chair and it will go in my bedroom.