My husband's wonderful father lost his battle with cancer this afternoon. It still hasn't fully sunk in although it seems like it's been a long time since I've spoken to the man he truly was. My husband had visited 4 times since we found out he had stage 4 lung cancer last April, one of the visits being with all of us in tow last summer. I had fought the idea of visiting him, after having gone through watching my own father die of lung cancer 9 years ago, but for my husband I agreed to go. I had seen pictures of him so I wasn't shocked when I saw his frail body and sad empty eyes.

But now that the sickness has taken him it's now time to remember who he was before the illness. I remember feeling relieved when my father passed, knowing he was no longer trapped inside that dying body and had gone on to be with many of his relatives that had gone before him.

Last night as I laid in bed praying and thinking about what this week was sure to become knowing how ill he had become, I prayed for my father and Rob's mother who passed away 13 years ago to get ready to meet Phil because I believed he was needing assurance from someone it was ok to let go of this world. So, between my outburst of tears and sadness, I smile thinking of them hanging out together enjoying today's NASCAR race

Phillip Bruyette 1-20-44 to 10-29-06

We'll be leaving in the next couple of days to make the trek to Arkansas for the funeral, please keep us in your thoughts & prayers.

God bless you all!