Grandpa Merrell

I have been  neglecting this poor little blog, and for that I'm sorry! We are alive

and well and life seems to be moving at break-neck speeds!

After probably the craziest October of our lives, Lance and I made preparations to go to Hawaii 

with Lance's parents, his sister Kirstin and her husband Bruce. It was a much needed break and there

will be much more on that in another post. But for a moment, I would like to talk about a wonderful

man, my grandpa Merrell, who passed away while we were gone.

My dad was born and raised in Provo in a chicken-coop-turned-home farm house. He grew

up on a farm where work was the family word and there were no exceptions. My wonderful

grandpa worked hard his entire life and he instilled that work ethic in his children as well.

It's a different world we live in now, that's for sure. 

Anyways, I have fond memories of playing around on the farm and spending time with my

grandpa Merrell all of my growing up years. We had the pleasure of having him move

in with my parents the last 2 weeks before he died and it was such a blessing to have him

around! Even when he was in intense pain he was pleasant and cheerful, always trying

to make those around him smile. He was that way right up until the day he died.

We will miss him, his funny jokes, his old stories and most of all, his thumb trick!

You see, my grandpa lost 3 of his fingers in several different accidents. The thumb,

I believe, was lost to an ax while cutting wood. Ouch. But it made for the best

"I lost my thumb" trick you've ever seen. That lost thumb definitely got it's worth in

gold just for all of the shocked little kids, staring with wide-eyes, because grandpa's 

thumb really was gone. How did he do that?!

Anyway, I'm getting sentimental but I just want to recognize this wonderful man

and the legacy of service and hard work that he's left behind. 

You will be missed grandpa!