M: March 2011

When I think of March, I think of one word: BUSY!!! It started off with a bang on the 1st. That day would have been Mikey's 28th birthday. :( I spent the day with Dad and Mom at the hospital. When I got home the girls raided my craft closet and made birthday hats to celebrate Mike's bday. They did a great job! We, as well as Mom and Nana, went to Cafe Rio for Mike's bday remembrance dinner.

That night the girls got balloons...

...and sent them to Heaven for Mike. (our tradition) We miss him SO badly!

At the beginning of March Dad was not doing well AT ALL. We, as well as his doctors, didn't think he'd make it. Thing's were really bad and the more tests the doctors ran, the more bad news we got. Lisa flew up from California to see him. Mom and I decided to kidnap everyone one night after being at the hospital all day. We needed a pick-me-up so we took all our "girls" to Texas Roadhouse for dinner and then to see "Just Go With It" at the movies. It felt SO good to laugh and it was MUCH needed! I love love love my Mom, Grandma and sisters!!!

Lisa could only stay 2 days, but I was thankful for the time I got to spend with her, despite the crappy circumstances.

Much of March was spent visiting Dad at the hospital. The first 2 weeks were incredibly emotional. I can't even begin to describe how painful it is to watch someone you love so much suffer. It's something you can't grasp until you go through it yourself. The worst part was watching Dad's mental state diminish. He never knew what was going on a round him or where he was. He rarely made sense when he spoke and was virtually unconscious most of the time. I'm so thankful to all the family, friends and neighbors who watched the girls for me so I could be with my Dad all the time. I am eternally grateful for the support I received!

Through all the visits, a few things really struck me. My Dad's strength was the 1st and I will talk about that in a separate post later. The second was my Mom's strength! I can't even imagine watching the love of your life fighting for his life. If I even liken it to me, I start to cry. My Mom has been by my Dad's side every single day for the (now) 6 weeks he has been in the hospital. She has comforted and fed him when he couldn't feed himself. She is a STRONG woman and I am in awe at her strength.

Another is Scott. I have been so amazed at his love for my parents. He works so much and goes to school on top of it. Through this all, he has somehow made time to support Dad, even staying the night with him at times after working all day and going to school all night. He kept saying it was his "privilege". He has made numerous trips to the hospital just to shave Dad and give him a haircut. He's such a compassionate guy! I can only PRAY that my girls marry men as good as their Daddy.

The girls were not allowed to see Dad the first 2 weeks in the hospital. One day when I was leaving the nurse stopped me to tell me that they thought I should bring the girls in. They thought it would be good for his spirits. And boy was it ever! Two days later Scott and I brought them after church, which continued to be our tradition. I hadn't seen Dad smile that big and be that excited in a long time. It was beautiful!

St. Patrick's Day is a favorite around here and I was determined to not make this year and exception. We started the day off with green pancakes, of coarse. :)

We had a very green lunch too!

For dinner I made corned beef stew, homemade bread and Watergate salad.

No, that's not a beer! We HAD to have creamed soda. The food was deelish!

We had a meeting that night so I didn't have time for an elaborate dessert. Mint n chip ice cream did the trick though. :)

The girls set up an adorable "leprechaun trap" and were determined to catch one. They left snacks and water for him and asked him to leave them gold coins. They even left a camera and asked him to take a picture of himself! Scott and I couldn't stand to disappoint them, so...

wouldn't you know the little guy left the coins AND this image on the camera. LOL!!! I can't even tell you how excited they were when they woke up in the morning. What a great St. Paddy's Day!

Our new rec center opened here in Herriman and we have been taking full advantage of it as much as we can. It's beautiful! They have the coolest pools and the girls were more than ready to jump in! Here's Peytie Pie lounging. :)

And Kaleigh and Shayla, my little mermaids. :)

For Suzie's bday in January I had bought her 2 tickets to the Lady Gaga concert in March. Luckily she took me! Ha! We were soooo excited. We ate at Cafe Rio and then headed to the ESA.

Gaga put on an amazing show! She may be a freak, but she is an incredible musician and artist. I love her music! Perhaps more entertaining than her, was her fans. The freaks were out in full force. Suz and I couldn't believe our eyes and were left speechless most of the night. There are some funky people in the world, let me tell you. It was the best people watching experience EVER.

Here's Suz and I with some fellow "monsters". Yes, they are all drag queens and they were fabulous! Seriously, they were incredibly sweet. :)

It was pouring rain when we left and we had a long walk to my car. We were soaked! It was such a fun night!!!

Me and my Daddy on one of my visits ♥

My knights in shining armor ♥

My nephew Gabe had his first bday party at a place called Kangaroo Zoo. We already had plans that night, but tried our hardest to fit both in. We were glad we went. I had to get a pic of our family with the birthday boy. He's so cute!

We rushed home from the party and left right away to the Bon Jovi concert. Suzie got tickets for us for Christmas!

He put on a great show and we were shocked at how packed the arena was. It was nuts! I've been to A LOT of concerts, but this was the most crowded one I've ever seen. We had a fun time. Thanks Suz!!!

I've been able to see a lot of things happen with Dad during this time. Some has been horrible and some has been down right amazing. Only Jeff Griffin could continue to smile through all that he has been through. Incredible!

It's been neat to watch as they give him platelets often, retrieve stem cells and I even got to sit by his side during his transplant on Saturday. Unbelievable!!!

March 25th was Dad's 54th birthday! As his day approached I felt a big need and desire to have a bday dinner for him at the hospital. I knew it would be a lot of work. Especially since that very same weekend was Kaleigh's bday and I was already doing two different parties for her. I did it anyways and I'm SO glad I did! It was a lot of work, and stress at times, but it was worth every bit. Scott was sweet enough to give Dad a much needed shave and haircut before the festivities.

Mom and I had Cafe Rio cater the dinner. I decorated the tables really cute so it felt special for Dad. The food was sooo good, but we ordered WAY too much! :)

Dad was really happy and it was so nice to see him sitting up and out of his room. It was the first time in 4 weeks that he had sat in a wheelchair and the first time out of his hospital room. Hooray! Here's the birthday boy with mom, Nancy, Brent and Luanne. We're all so thankful for great friends.