Kacoo

This spring my grandmother, who I call Kacoo, had emergency surgery and was in and out of the hospital several times. Right before I had Henry she was sick with pneumonia and wasn't doing very well, and I really wanted to see her. I tried to make plans to go see her Friday evening, May 4th, but both my parents and husband encouraged me otherwise (after all, I would be only 2 days away from my due date...). Of course as it turned out, I had Henry that Friday morning and wouldn't have been able to see her anyway. 

Several weeks later on May 22nd, Jimmy and I had the chance to visit her and introduce her to Henry when my mom was in town to watch Charlie. It was a precious afternoon with her- she was very alert, loved seeing Henry, and chatted with us a good bit. We were SO thankful that we went that day, since it turned out to be her last "good day." During the following days her pain increased, she was moved to a Hospice home, and she was given increasing amounts of morphine to manage the pain. She passed away on June 2.

Her funeral was a beautiful testimony to her faith in God and a life well lived. There were a couple congregational hymns, some local Mennonites sang two hymns a capella (incredibly beautiful), both my cousin Blair and my brother Daniel spoke about memories they had of her, and her pastor gave a lovely sermon, filled with the Word of God.

Here are pictures from our last visit with her:

My Kacoo

With Henry, whose first name comes from her late husband and my Papa, Henry Elmer Barker

Thank you for your beautiful example of faith, Kacoo, and for the way you loved your family.

I love you.