Papa's Farewell Ceremony

Ok so it's been awhile again.  It's been busy around here but today I am forced to take a break.  Some of you may know that I somehow injured my Achilles Tendon while in California and I just tried to ignore it for that whole month but I just tried to ignore it.  When I got back home I finally broke down and saw the Dr. and I have been doing Physical Therapy since.  Things were starting to get better until I woke up on Sunday with my ankle black and blue.  

I have no idea what I did but it hurts something fierce.  Why does that always happen?  You bang into something and it hurts like heck and you just know that you're going to have a nasty bruise when you wake up in the morning. But instead you get nothing.  Then when you finally do have a nasty bruise, you have no Earthly idea where or how you got it.

Anyways, I saw the Podiatrist again on Monday after my PT and he said he wants me to stay off of it for 10 days.  Really?  10 days?  Have you met my kids?  I am trying my best to stay off of it because I am beyond ready to get back to life, and the gym.  So anyways here I am resting with my feet up and I have nothing else to do but sit here and catch up on my blog finally. 

So let's get to it!

Actual Date: Tuesday, July 26, 2011

This was a busy and emotional day.  A year ago my Papa passed away but before he did he asked for his ashes to be scattered in the ocean.  He was in the Navy and his heart belonged at sea.  Since all the family was together my Mom arranged a great day for us all to say our final goodbyes.     

Early that morning my Dad came over sporting his Skellenger Family Doins' shirt.  He missed all the fun the night before because he was at work but we saved him a shirt so he wouldn't feel too left out.

Ginny was already hard at work making the flower flag for Papa's ceremony.

It was great because she let everyone, including the kids help.

It made it even more special that everyone had their own part in it.

Parker was loving Cindi this day.

Grandpa Donnie with the kids.  

The finished product.  Isn't it beautiful?  Thank you so much for doing this Ginny.  It was the perfect addition to the day.

Ginny made some arrangements with the left over flowers for the kids to give to their Moms.

After everyone was dressed and ready we headed down to the beach to board the ship.

Chels and Jeff

My Mom.  I was so excited that she was able to come along.  Not like she was going to let anything stop her.  There was no way to get her on the ship than to carry her up.  Poor thing had bruises and was so stiff the next day from it but she'd do it all over again if she had to.  

Chris

Jacob and Cindi

Parker and I

Parker and Grandpa

Auntie Diane and Brooke

Heather and Kenny

Ava

Ann and Jacob

This picture has a funny story.  Right after it was taken the Captain of the boat rushed up the stairs to the top deck and said "Ma'am, please do not touch that stuff.  Everything up here works..."  It was halarious because Ann was the one who instigated it all and got in trouble.  Not the kids.  

I had to get a good picture of Parker's shirt.  It was perfect for the day.  It said "This is your Captain speaking."

When we finally got out to the ocean the Captain turned off the motor and we watched as they scattered Papa's ashes off the back of the boat.  He threw in some flower petals with it and dropped in the flower flag close behind.  The whole thing was beautiful.

Another one of my favorite parts of the whole day was when everyone gathered around the sides of the boat and got to throw in a single long stem rose each.  

It was a beautiful sight to see the path of flowers leading out to Papa's final resting place.

Even though my heart was heavy and it was hard to say goodbye I was filled with a sense of peace knowing that Papa was watching over all of us.  I'm sure he was smiling.  

The day was extra hard because right before we boarded the boat, my Mom got a phone call letting her know that her Uncle Marv had just passed away.  Some of you may remember that I asked you to pray for my Uncle Marv awhile back in this post.  Marvin wanted more than anything to attend his brother's service that day but he knew he was too sick to make the trip. In some ways it made my heart happy because he got to be there like he wanted.

Just as the Captain swung the ship back around so we could circle around the spot one more time, two birds appeared and flew together right behind the ship.  Right over Papa's ashes. My Mom pointed them out, laughed and said "It's Papa and Marvin!"  It was really cool.

After we got back to port we all headed back to the hotel to swim and have dinner.  We ate In N Out of course.  And after we all feasted on some yummy frozen yogurt that Uncle Donnie picked up.  You know if Uncle Donnie is around, ice cream will be involved somehow.