Remembering Grandpa

Marc's Grandpa DePauw passed away one week ago. This week we were able to travel to IA to be with the DePauw family as we celebrated and remembered his life. (July 2010--Sadie, Kinnick, & Macey with their Great-Grandpa & Great-Grandma DePauw)

The visitation was Wednesday night--it was such a great experience (especially for our first time bringing our kids to a visitation). All the cousins sat around visiting and enjoying being together. A packed a bag of activities and snacks for our three and they did great for the 3 plus hours we were there!

We talked with Sadie a lot ahead of time telling her what to expect. She had LOTS of questions. Some were expected: "How will Grandpa go to Heaven without his body?" "What does his new body look like?"
Some were a bit humorous: "What if Grandpa's head and legs don't fit in the box (casket)?"... explanation... followed by "Oh, so it's not like a box like we have at our house (diaper box)?" "How will Grandpa change his clothes in Heaven?"
Some were hard to answer: "When me and Kinnick and Macey die will we have a funeral?" I tried to be as honest as possible while trying to know how much information she was ready for. It was a good experience to go through and Sadie really seemed to handle to well.

Uncle Nathan & Kinnick

Sadie and her 2nd cousin Taylor--playing princess old maid... Taylor was the only other great-grandkid there. He's several years older than Sadie, but he was so kind asking her to play and letting her choose activities.

The funeral was Thursday morning. All of our kids did great sitting through it. We all went out to the cemetery--it was freezing but good to say good-bye. Afterwards we enjoyed a yummy dinner and some more time to visit. There were several more greats there on Thursday so Kinnick and Sadie had a great time running around with them.

The kids were VERY worn out... K and M fell asleep on our way back from the cemetery and K slept in Grandma's lay for about 30 minutes! M slept all the way through lunch and had to eat later!

Sadie and Kinnick with Great-Grandma DePauw

My BIG girl!

All 18 grandkids were able to make it back for the funeral (coming from CA, FL, OK, NE, CO, IL, and IA!) What a testament to Marc's Grandpa & Grandma to have 18 grandkids who are all believers and now raising another generation of believers!

My Little Man

On our way home... notice Sadie is in her p.j.'s! We had to stop for a little treat!

Grandpa's Quote that Marc most remembers: "There's always room for ice cream--it just fills in the cracks!"