Nantahala Outdoor Center

Last Saturday, we stopped at the Nantahala Outdoor Center (in Bryson City, NC) on our way to Candler, NC for a wedding. It was a beautiful day and the river was full of groups going down in kayaks and rafts. Kyle and I did a bit of shopping in the store for more outdoor workout clothes for our trip, then headed on a hike ourselves. The Appalachian Trail passes right through NOC's property, so we hiked on that trail for a little bit. Since we had a wedding to make it to that night we didn't hike that far, but it was still uphill and got our hearts pumping! We hope to go up there again -- it's a very cool place! (And here is our wonderful self-timer photo haha)

Dog sitting Bella

A couple weekends ago, Kyle and I volunteered to watch Bella, a golden retriever 7 month old puppy, for the weekend. I work with her owner, Angela, and was very excited to have another dog in the house! They got along great, Tyson loved having a playmate!
The first night we brought them to the dog park to get some energy out and play before we went bowling with Chris and Kathleen. It was a lot of fun, we actually really do love bowling- haha! Who knew that Friday night would be half price games AND disco night?!

The tough Arnold team, that ended up whooping our butts out there:

Kyle and I are trying to act tough, but we just didn't cut it:

Group shot:

On Saturday we took the dogs to Red Top Mountain, to hike on some trails along there. Bella heels just like Tyson, and when let off the leash will stay right by you so it was really fun. We took them swimming, which Bella had never done before. As you'll watch in this video, she learns VERY fast and had a blast trying to chase the stick with Tyson!

By the end we had ourselves two VERY tired doggies!

Wordless Wednesday: Chasing Tails

"I don't know what this black thing is that Puck has on his backside...
might as well swat at it all day everyday..."

Family Laughs

These past couple weeks, being at home on and off for Grandpa we did manage to have some fun things happening as well. The twins are medicine for anybody, always dressing up or saying something adorable. Tara was gracious enough to let me stay at her house the entire time, so I definitely got in some major twin time! Thank you Tara!!!

Here they are going to the "grocery store"... they are decked out!

We also had a picnic one afternoon before visiting Grandpa in the hospital.
They are just too cute:Natalie's 'smile':

Getting ready to go to their first swim lesson!

We also got the chance to put in Natalie's FIRST pair of pigtails!
Aren't they just adorable?

One afternoon I slipped away to go meet my best friend Sara for lunch. We ended up talking for 3.5 hours in a Panera! Her son, Ethan, is absolutely adorable as you can see below. Sara I needed our time more than you know, thank you for being such an amazing friend, always being there for me!!
And finally one night while all the family was over at Grandma's, the guys found Grandpa's yo-yo collection. He was the official "yo-master"- haha. It was hilarious watching all the guys competing against one another with all their tricks. Grandpa would have been laughing so hard!

Grandpa's Funeral

Grandpa's Funeral was last Wednesday at 11:00 am, held in the Stony Hill Family Life Center in Wake Forest, NC. Jamie led the funeral service, which made it so much more personal and special. We watched a slideshow of pictures that Tara and I put together, sang some of Grandpa's favorite hymns, and Jamie read a page my mom had written about her dad and all the things she'll remember most about him.

Here is the slideshow, man do we love these pictures!
(for some reason the transparencies and fades aren't working, but you get the drift)

Jamie put together a top 10 things you need to know about Grandpa, and they helped us all smile so I thought I would share them with you!
1) His birthday was August 11th... you couldn't get close to anyone in the family without knowing that date!
2) His favorite team was the Florida State Seminoles- Garnet and Gold all the way!
3) If you even wore the colors of the "gators" (blue and orange) he wouldn't let you in his house.
4) Don't mess with his Park Avenue-- that thing only went out in the best weather.
5) You have to love cats, especially his named "Sheba".
6) His doorbell rang "Dixie", as he was a true man of the South.
7) Always remember to pray for our troops.
8) He could eat unlimited amounts of Ice cream.
9) He always used sported items (coffee cups, shirts) that read "World's Greatest Grandpa"... some he even bought for himself!
10) He was a Trained Killer and called himself this often, although he would never hurt a fly.

After the service ended, the 6 grandchildren - David Mathis, Jeff (Summer's husband), Ben, Nick, Kyle, and David (Sarah's husband)- were the paul bearers and carried Grandpa's casket out to the hearse. It was so special to have the 6 of them carrying grandpa.

Here is a picture of 5 of them, missing David:

As we all walked from the Family Life Center to the Grave Site, Grandpa wanted there to be bag pipes playing... so we did. It was absolutely beautiful, and so neat to hear them. Once we all were sitting, the flag honor began. My grandpa proudly served his country in the U.S. Army and retired as a Chief Warrant Officer after 21 years of service. The soldiers meticulously folded the American flag that was laying on his casket, and then presented it to my Grandma. As Taps was played on the trumpet, they stood soluting my Grandpa. It brought tears to all of our eyes, and was so special. The last thing that Grandpa wanted included in his service, was for this specific lady to sing "Dixie" (he had heard her sing at another funeral). She came all dressed in a Southern costume and sang a beautiful acapella version of Dixie for Grandpa. All the paul bearers took their flowers off their suit jackets and laid them on the casket, which were burried with him. We all then headed back to the Family Life Center for a reception, as the "Helping Hands" ministry from Stony Hill had prepared a delicious meal for the family and guests to eat. It was a wonderful service, one that truly captured Grandpa's personality and spirit.

Thank you to everyone who supported my family through bringing over food, coming to the services, donating money, or sending flowers. We can not thank you enough, your prayers and encouragement meant the world to us.

My grandma with her three kids:

Grandma with all the grand and great-grand children:

All of our family who came in town to celebrate his life:

I was so blessed to have had a special bond with my grandpa all growing up, one that I will never forget. It makes me so sad to think our kids will not have the chance to meet him here on earth, but they will be told many stories and see tons pictures to make up for it! What an amazing man. Love you grandpa.

Grandpa's Visitation

Grandpa's visitation was last Tuesday from 7-9 pm, held at Bright Funeral Home in Wake Forest, NC. All in all, we had 28 family members in town (grand babies and all), which was so neat to have everyone there to honor Grandpa. We all lined up in 2 adjoining rooms with Grandma at the end closest to the casket- and the visitation started. We had so many people come through, mostly friends from our old church (bayleaf), our new church (stony hill), or the masonic lodge that grandpa was a member of. It was so neat hearing everyone's stories about grandpa, how much they loved him, and how much he made them laugh.

Friends/Family sent beautiful arrangements:

Grandma with her 3 kids:

Ben, Nick and Dad:

Uncle David, Shannon, Me, Uncle Johnny and Sarah:

Sarah, David, Summer, Aunt CC (Grandma's sister), Tara, Aunt JoAnne, Ben:

Jamie and Nick:

It was a hard night for all of us, but it was so neat to see everyone who came out to celebrate Grandpa's life. We can't thank you enough!

My Grandpa Stout

Two weeks ago (6/1) my grandpa was admitted into Raleigh Community Hospital because there was blood in his urine, a trip we all thought might just be caused from a urinary tract infection. After numerous tests they determined it was not coming from his bladder, but instead his kidneys. The doctors believe that his kidneys were beginning to shutdown because of the chemo he's been undergoing to fight his lung and bone cancer. He had some very painful days, as the hospital was still trying to find the correct combination of medicines for him. After a respiratory specialist visited him, she also found fluid in his lungs which was making it difficult for him to breathe.

I flew up late Sunday night (6/7) and rushed over to the hospital to see him as we didn't know how much longer his body would continue to fight. Grandpa was sleeping, but as soon as he heard my voice he woke up and said "MY LEAH!! I knew you would come", then reached up his arms for a big hug. I wouldn't have traded that moment for the whole world. He continued to give all of us little gifts like that over the next week, and we will treasure those words he said for the rest of our lives.

Grandma never left his side, even sleeping in the recliner in his room some of the nights despite her back problems. During our visits we would hold his hand, sing to him, feed him ice chips (he had stopped eating food at this point), talk about FSU, and so many other special things. On Monday afternoon, his doctor approved a move into a Hospice House in Hillsborough, as Grandpa hated the hospital. Tuesday morning, as soon as they opened the ambulance doors at the Meadowlands Hospice House in Hillsborough, Grandpa said "This place is like Heaven".

We got him all moved in and settled (finally at this point pain-free with the right combination of medicines), and it felt so much like home for him. The nurses at the hospice house were unbelievable, constantly brushing his hair, making him comfortable, giving him kisses, and singing to him. There are only 6 rooms in this house, and it was such a blessing from the Lord for one bedroom to be open for Grandpa. Every room has a patio, overlooking a pond and field where ducks, deer, ground hogs, and Canadian geese live.

I flew back to ATL late Tuesday night, worked Wed-Friday then Kyle and I headed back up Friday at lunch. Wednesday through Friday were very tough days for Grandpa and the rest of my family. He no longer had his eyes open at all during the day, and his breathing was very heavy with a gurgle sound in it (caused from the fluid in his lungs). He was expending a great deal of energy for every breath. We all spent time with him though, making sure to say our goodbyes and trying to comfort him. Grandma spent about 2 hours with him telling him everything he was great at in her eyes... athletic, military accomplishments, graduating from FSU, etc. It was so sweet. Even though he wasn't reacting to our words, we all know he could hear us and feel our touch. Most times when Grandma touched his face, his lips curled up into a faint smile.

Friday night around 11:00PM we were all sitting around his bed (Uncle Johnny, Grandma, Tara, Mom, Kyle, Jamie, Aunt Debbie and I) and Grandpa started to breathe very heavily, and the time between his breaths increased. We knew his time was coming to an end. After a deep breath, he opened his eyes- not looking around anywhere else but to Grandma's face. She stroked and kissed his face, while whispering "I love you" over and over again. His mouth started to move, and even though no sound was coming out we all knew he was saying "I love you" back to her over and over. This lasted for almost 30 seconds and the rest of us just stood there crying feeling so privileged to watch such an amazing testament to their 60 years of marriage together. He fought so hard to open his eyes, squeeze my mom's hand and tell my Grandma that he loved her, one last time instead of taking another breath. He knew exactly what my Grandma needed to be at peace with his passing and he gave that to her. What an amazing man and what a selfless act. My grandma was INCREDIBLY strong through the whole process and she walked him right up to the gates of heaven...there is no doubt about that.

David Gardner Stout

August 11, 1929 - June 12, 2009

(to see read more about him click here)

What a blessing it is for Grandpa to have entered eternally into the presence of the Lord. It's such peace to know that our family will be reunited with him again. Thank you all so much for your prayers and support for my family that you've shown the past couple of weeks. There will be a visitation held at Bright Funeral Home, this Tuesday (June 16th) 7-8:30 pm. His funeral will be held at Stony Hill Baptist Church this Wednesday (June 17th) at 11:00 am. We are so grateful for the 79 years that we had with him. We already miss him tremendously and our hearts are broken, but his example of a husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather will never be forgotten.

In lieu of flowers, my family is requesting donations be made to the Duke HomeCare & Hospice, 4321 Medical Park Drive Suite 101 Durham, NC 27704. (Please designate on memo line Duke Hospice at the Meadowlands.) They were absolutely unbelievable to my grandpa during his stay there. Any other donations may also be made to the Stony Hill Baptist Church Building Fund, 7521 Stony Hill Road, Wake Forest, NC 27587.

Wordless Wednesday: Man's Best Friend

Marietta weekend with Cory & Mada

Our friends from Charlotte, Cory & Mada, came down on Thursday night to visit Marietta for the weekend. While Kyle and I were at work on Friday, they visited the aquarium, CNN center, and other things. Around 6:00 that night we all headed up to the square, for Marietta's 175th birthday party, and a Beattles cover band concert. The weather was perfect, and we had a good time eating our picnic food and listening to the band.
Before the concert they had some army helicopters fly over... it's cool having Dobbins airforce base so close that we get to see these things a lot
Saturday we went to the farmers market on the square, which Mada found some yummy bread and I bought a bouquet of fresh flowers

We went hiking on a trail in the Battlefield, and let Tyson swim in the creek. I love these fields in the summer time... they are so beautifulTyson & Ky in the creek:

After getting home we walked back up to the square for the Rock n' Wing fest. We found some yummy wings, and relaxed in the shade for a little while listening to some of the rock bands playing. After taking a nap, Kyle and I cooked flank steak, corn on the cob, french loaf and mushrooms for dinner then we all watched the movie Australia at home. It was good, quirky, but good!

Sunday was not so great as I woke up in the morning throwing up, and continued to do so the rest of the day and night. Kyle took such great care of me, I was so weak I really don't know what I would have done without him. Unfortunately our weekend had to get cut short, but we had a very nice weekend at home with friends getting to experience all that the Marietta square has to offer!