Grandpa Pelfrey's Funeral

Dan's dad, Jim passed away on April 23rd due to heart failure. His heart gave out and the paramedics were unable to revive him. Grandpa Pelfrey has been in poor health for a few years now but it was unexpected, heartbreaking news.  He was a loving father and doting grandfather and we will miss him dearly!

We immediately made plans to go to Texas for the funeral and ended up choosing to drive to save money. It's a long, long drive but well worth it so we could be there with our family. It took us three days to get there and I'm pretty sure we hit every kind of weather imaginable while driving. It was raining and hailing through Oregon and Idaho, snowing in Wyoming, and we hit the western edge of the tornado system that blew through the central states while in Kansas and Oklahoma. The warm weather in Texas was a welcome reprieve.

Scary winds and tipped over 18-wheelers were not uncommon. 

This happened at the hotel each night...

They took over the only flat space available so they could play with every toy they brought with them.

 That one time when Austin just had to find the toy at the bottom of the backpack...

Throughout the whole trip, Ethan was convinced we were going to see Jesus since we'd explained to him that Grandpa had died and gone to live with Jesus. We told him we'll see Grandpa again someday since our family is eternal. In the obvious logic of a 3 year old, he decided this meant we were driving to heaven to see Jesus. He was convinced that since Grandpa lived in Texas and now lives with Jesus, we were going to meet Jesus and that heaven was in Texas. 

We had to explain Texas vs. Heaven (it was a close call) and had several wonderful discussions about eternal families and prayer. He's still learning but I think it helped him understand. 

We stayed in Dallas for a night with my sister-in-law Jamie and her family to meet our 3-day old new nephew Jameson before driving down to Orange.  We stayed with Gloria and the boys had so much fun playing with all of her toys and on the backyard playset. They really wanted to take it home with us!

Grandma pulled out these awesome Chip and Dale costumes that she made for Dan and Uncle Michael when they were young. Ethan and Bex made adorable chipmunks!

The viewing at the funeral home was on Friday night and there was so much love and support from the Pelfrey's family and friends. Jim was much beloved in their community. 

The boys came with us to the viewing and Ethan was very sweet about it. He had several major concerns about Grandpa . He kept asking where Grandpa's toes were since he couldn't see them in the half-closed casket and was worried they were missing. He also kept asking if there was something wrong with Grandpa's ears since he didn't answer us when we talked. 

It makes my heart sad that our boys won't know their Grandpa as they grow up but they will always have all the pictures and wonderful stories to help keep Grandpa Pelfrey in their memory.

The funeral was held on May 3rd at Jim and Gloria's church. The service was wonderful even though  Austin cried through most of it (not sad tears--the angry, I'm-missing-naptime-kind-of-tears) but it was still beautiful. Close friends spoke of Jim's generosity, work in the church, and dedication to his family and my sister-in-law Tara and niece Madison sang Come thou Fount.  Then we drove over to the cemetery and Dan dedicated the grave. 

Austin lasted for about 10 minutes before watching movies in the truck. 

More attempts at a cute picture of us...

Grandma G and Cousin Jameson

Dan and his brother Michael...hugging!!! And smiling!!!

After the internment, a luncheon was held at Michael and Tara's house with family and friends. It was really nice to meet up and talk with some of Dan's aunt, uncle, and cousins, some of which we hadn't seen since we got married. 

And then there was Austin, whose long, napless day continued with spilled juice all over his church clothes and borrowed shorts from Cousin Joshua. 

 Austin was not thrilled. 

Dan and I weren't able to stay for long since Dan had to be in Dallas on the 5th but the time we did spend there was well spent.

Austin made a new friend...

(there is a video but it's not loading. I'll try and put it up again later)

The boys loved monkeying around with Uncle Michael.

I'm so grateful for my testimony of eternal families. I know we will see Grandpa Pelfrey again and I know he will be watching over us. We love our Texan family so much! Before Dan and I left for Dallas, we took one more family picture.