treasuring memories

Remember my first October post? How i said that it was going to be an "Outstanding October"? I was right, but you know its also been a pretty challenging October as well. I'll just start at the beginning. My Nannie, Grampie, & Aunty Kathy came up from New Brunswick came up and it was just so great to see them. We had so much fun!! We played cards, walked, hiked, watched the salmon run, and just hung out as a family. (i'll post some photos of our hikes below!) It was good for all of us i think. Just lots of lovely bonding time. Oh and me and Jeff both had our birthdays! (i am now 19 and Jeffry is 20!) So we were so blessed to be able to celebrate with everyone! Tiff came up and stayed at our house for a few days, so that was super great! (i love seeing that girl) So yeah, we had a fun Thanksgiving meal and all that good stuff, and now we realize how thankful we really were. I know it wasn't that long ago, but for some reason lots of October feels like a fuzzy blur so I'll just skip to the end. The family left and we were so sad to see them go, its amazing how quickly you get used to having everyone around. So they left on Sunday morning (the day before Thanksgiving) and that was that, life back to normal. However on Thanksgiving we got a call saying that on the plane Grampie had something that seemed like a stroke, they later found out that he had a huge infection in his body. As soon as their plane landed in Fredericton he was taken to the hospital where he was immediately put into ICU. Things weren't looking good, but we didn't really know what the outcome was going to be. As the days went by there wasn't much change, but then on Tuesday the 15th the doctors tried to take Grampie off some of the medication he was taking but he went into a cardiac arrest. My parents flew down to Fredericton the same day. Things were pretty much staying consistent, there would be slight improvements, but nothing was really happening then on Sunday the 20th mom called and said that news from Grampies CT scan came back and if he survived this he would pretty much be vegetable. And that all the family got together and they decided that they would be taking Grampie off of the life support. Yesterday around 5:00, New Brunswick time, Grampie passed away peacefully with both my parents in his room. Thanks to everyone who had been praying, it was so appreciated. Its a tough time, but we're all so glad that Grampie doesn't have to be in pain anymore. We're all so grateful that we had a week to spend with Grampie before all of this happened. It was definitely all done in God's timing. At least its not 'goodbye', but only 'see you soon'. 

"when someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure."

We'll miss you Grampie. xoxo
a.mart

i feel an outstanding october coming...

Greetings, loved ones! Lucky for you, (hopefully) i've decided that i should try to blog more often then i usually do, so here we go! This week has been good; lots of fun. I worked at Carter's/Oshkosh from Monday-Wednesday so i'm officially DONE wearing a training name tag! Weeeee! However, it looks like i'm gonna start some more training because they need someone to be a part-time key holder/manager in training (MIT) and it looks like that's gonna be ME! So i'm pretty excited about that. It's neat how i was so nervous to start looking for a job and all that stuff, but now its like God knew exactly where i was needed, and what i needed as well. Its great to feel like you're in the right place at the right time. In other news, there are some really exciting things happening this month! For one, Jeff is doing MIDTERMS! (ok, so its not that exciting, but prayers would be much appreciated!) Oh i almost forgot! Jeff got a job as well! He's officially the janitor for the Prairie Coast Equipment here in Kamloops! We're pretty excited about it. Haha and another exciting thing happening soon is that my Nannie & Grampie and my Aunty Kathy are coming up to Kamloops for a nice long visit! I'm so excited! It was a bummer that lots of my Tosh side couldn't make it to the wedding, so seeing some of them now is gonna be just swell. They fly up on the 6th i believe (is that a Sunday?) anyways and they're leaving on the 14th. Which meeeaanss... THEY'LL BE HERE FOR MY AND JEFF'S BIRTHDAYS!! My birthday is on the 11th and Jeffry's is on the 12th! (so neat how that worked out, hey?) So yeah, we're gonna have some great times! I'm turning the big "19" this year! (its different from Alberta where its usually considered the big "18" or whatever) And Jeff's turning into an adult. Lame. Haha but no, its going to be so nice. Another exciting this thats happening is that while my Grandparents and aunt are up here TIFFANY THE BEST is going to come up as well! Weeee! I'm excited. It feels like its been a while since i've romped around with that girl! SO there you have it. Alana is excited to see whats going to be happening throughout this lovely crisp fall month, and is also excited to inform you along the way! 

Happy October!

a.mart