G-Daddy, My Hero!

All when I was growing up, I had a special friendship and connection with my G-daddy (It was his mom, Zulah Abigail that I was named after, but we dropped the Zulah thank goodness!) Every time I would come to Abilene he would ask me... Now Abigail, do you have a BOYfriend? And I would say NO, Gdaddy thanks for rubbing it in ha!... We would go to his lakehouse every Easter and summer and he would pull us behind the boat skiing and on the infamous water weenie! When we were little, we would come spend 1 week at Nannie and Gdaddys to give my parents a break... Each time he would tell Nannie and I to go "shoppin" and he would sneak me a few $10 bills and shove them down into my pockets! I mean that was a lot of money in elementary school, I felt RICH!

All fun memories at Lake LBJ!

one of me and Katy's summer week trips to Abilene!

If you haven't noticed The Notebook is my favorite movie of all time and G-daddy was Noah and Nannie was his Allie. He lived at her bedside and took care of her for years before she passed last year and didn't once complain. He fed her, gave her her medicine, and talked to her just like everything was normal... He loved her to the very end. In fact the day before he passed, I was sitting up on his bed telling him how much I admired their marriage and that it was the standard I was holding myself to... I think I found myself a French Noah :) G-daddy said he thought I was a princess and that Logan was a "jim dandy" which is a HUGE compliment coming from him! He said even though he was an Aggie, that he trusted my judgement. I told him I was a normal Aggie, he told me that I was one of the few exceptions haha! A longhorn to the very end... I think his blood could possibly be burnt orange! I also got a chance to show him our honeymoon pictures and tell him about our dreams of moving to France to which he said- "well, I have never been to Europe but please don't stay too long b/c I will miss you!" I also got the chance to tell him again that Logan and I plan on naming our little girl (MUCH later) Estelle Marie Misegades and call her Stella, after Nannie- I hope he told Nannie that last night.

The last thing I want to write about is my grandfathers unwavering faith in God. He is sincerely the wisest man I have ever known. He was a shining example of Christs love for the church and he was so generous and kind. I can only imagine the many jewels that are on his crown right now. He hungered after The Word and always loved having theological discussions. We were laughing last night thinking about how many questions he probably asked Jesus himself last night. In under 2 minutes he left this Earth and was reunited with his Father, Zulah, Nannie, and the rest of his loved ones and friends and I WILL see him again. I selfishly wish he was here b/c he was still sharp as a whip and witty until the end and I am sad to think my kids will never get to know him or meet him, but I am lucky... G-daddy was at my wedding. The biggest day of my life thus far. He walked my mom down the aisle 1 month and 3 days ago and I can see him on the video standing up to watch me walk down. I used to always ask if he would come to my wedding and he would joke about how he would like to...if he is still around. HE WAS! I am forever grateful for that and I hope he is able to tell Nannie all about the wedding and how I wore her broach on my dress to honor her.

He always said he was so lucky to have such beautiful and wonderful granddaughters... but WE were the lucky ones. We were lucky to have such a great example and man to look up to/ aspire to find for ourselves. And we are lucky we got to hug and kiss him goodbye on Tuesday.

I love you G-daddy. I ache for you, but I am so grateful for the great 2 days we had this week together and I am so thankful that you were able to talk to us and laugh with us... I will never ever forget you and I will see you again. I am so glad that you finally get to experience the paradise that you have forever fantasized and wondered about.

Thank you Lord for allowing our family to spend time with him at the wedding and at Thanksgiving and this week... Thank you for taking him quickly and thank you that my mom was able to be there, holding his hand the whole time. Thank you that he was not afraid or in a lot of pain. Thank you for your timing and your many blessings. Thank you for taking him home to be with you. Give us comfort day to day, keep his memories alive within our hearts, and help us continue his legacy.

I LOVE this passage from Henry Van Dyke- It was read at Logan's grandma's funeral and it is exactly how I like to imagine the unfathomable transition from life to eternal life. I changed the SHE to HE in this case.

"I am standing upon the seashore. A ship at my side spreads his white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. He is an object of beauty and strength. I stand and watch him until at length he hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.

Then someone at my side says 'There, he is gone!'

'Gone where?'

Gone from my sight. That is all. He is just as large in maste and hull and spar as he was when he left my side and he is just as able to bear the load of living freight to his destined port.

His diminished size is in me, not in him. And just at the moment when someone at my side says: 'There, he is gone!' There are other eyes watching him coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout 'HERE HE COMES!'"

I love you.