Taking a little break -- Updated

UPDATE: 4/30/2019, My brother Russell passed away into his eternal home early this morning.  Rest in peace, Russell Tedlie Mursch,  October 6, 1943-April 30, 2019. 

Dear Friends,
 You may have noticed that I haven't posted anything in a little while. I fully intended to, but last week we had a family emergency, and that kind of changed things.  Most of you are probably aware that my brother has been battling leukemia for the past year, and Thursday afternoon we received a call that he was being sent home from the hospital (after almost 2 weeks in there with pneumonia, which I was unaware of), and would be going on Hospice care at home. Since I had not seen my brother since last summer, I knew I needed to go as soon as possible.

So my sister came and joined me and my son and we loaded up the car and headed to Georgia (from Florida) early Friday morning. Thankfully, my son was the driver by choice.  Our spouses all stayed home to take care of things at home since this was a quick trip without much time to make plans.

We were so thankful to arrive safely Friday evening after a very long arduous trip through Friday rush hour traffic through Atlanta. Anyone who has been there understands what that is like!

I was especially thankful that our other brother stayed and waited for us to arrive so that we four siblings could all be together again one more time.  Then he had to head back home to North Carolina that night.

It was a bittersweet time together, but oh, so special, and my brother was so very thankful to have us come all that way.  He said he felt kind of guilty that we made that long trip to see him because he was supposed to be so sick, and yet he said he didn't feel quite so bad after all! We assured him that we were quite happy to be there and that we were also glad that he didn't feel so bad, and he certainly shouldn't feel guilty!  In spite of a lot of discomfort and pain, he managed to stay positive and genuinely happy that we were all there.

The next day his kids and some of his grandkids also came so we could all be together again.

I know we don't always like to look at pictures of sick people, especially when we may not even know them, but what I wanted to share was the sweetness of this time together.  Some of these people above are step-children and step-grandchildren...but they are all there to show love and respect and to help in any way possible.  One of the young men above is the boyfriend of my brother's daughter, and he spent the whole day working outside in the yard, digging up poison ivy everywhere it was growing rampantly out of control. He said he wasn't allergic to it and it didn't affect him...so he stayed after it all day long! What a kind and thoughtful thing to do, as it was growing in places where people would need to walk and get in and out of cars, etc., so this was a big deal.  The Step-son and daughter in law brought food for everyone, enough to feed all of us for two days and then some...such a blessing! The others helped with lifting, moving, running errands, and even entertaining us all....it was a wonderful time with a beautiful family...some of whom I had never met yet because they are newly added to the family!

If you are on my Facebook, you have already seen most of these pictures. But for those of you who aren't, I wanted to share a few pictures of things in and around my brother's home that I enjoyed seeing:

These next few pictures are of the boat that my brother was building before he got sick. Yes, he literally built the boat from blueprints that he ordered...it is amazing (and actually it isn't the first boat he has built, but I don't have pictures of the others).  It is almost finished, but sadly he won't be able to finish it and christen it with a name and sail away in it.  We asked him what he would like to name it and he said it wasn't going to be up to him, but to whomever took over finishing it and using it.

(My other brother and my son, looking things over )

This is the Elk head of the huge elk he killed in Idaho many many years ago.  I loved to hear him tell the story of how he managed to get that elk head and all the meat down the side of a mountain to get it back home. It was quite a tale!!! And he and his family enjoyed the meat for quite some time. 

These are just a few things in his house that he mentioned to me that he either built or liked and had a story to them... This is a bench made from an interesting slab of wood that he found in our father's workshop years ago...

This antique cherry drop leaf table was in our old farm home where I was born, and my mother told my brother that he christened it with his pablum when he was a baby!!

My brother built this beautiful bed:

And he said he found this old antique desk chair somewhere, and it was a mess and ready for the trash heap, but he took it and restored and refinished it and he said he absolutely loved this old chair:

I loved seeing this painting of a duck in his office...because our father painted this for him...

And this painting my father also painted many, many years ago, and it always hung in the living room of our home where I grew up. I was so happy to see it again here in my brother's house. Made me feel close to "home" again.

These lovely bearded irises were growing all around the front of the house...they were so pretty:

And I loved this front porch, where several of us gathered and sat and visited and laughed and enjoyed being together...

When we left his home Saturday evening we knew it would be the last time we would see my brother on this earth. We said our farewells, but only until we gather together in heaven again someday. He mentioned that he could envision our mother and dad waiting for him "out there, somewhere beyond those trees..."  (this was the view from his bed in their lovely sunroom)

This beautiful sunset as we drove out of his neighborhood and back to our hotel reminded me of the song: "Beyond the Sunset"

"Beyond the sunset
Oh, blissful morning
When with our Savior
Heaven's begun
Earth's toiling ended
Oh, glorious dawning
Beyond the sunset
When day is done
(Spoken)
Beyond the sunset
No clouds will gather
No storms will threaten
No fears annoy
Oh, day of gladness
Oh, day unending
Beyond the sunset
Eternal joy
Beyond the sunset
Oh, glad reunion
With our dear loved ones
Who've gone before
In that fair homeland
We'll know no parting
Beyond the sunset
Forever more"

The next morning we headed back home. Thankfully we arrived safely after another long day, but without all of the traffic of the previous trip.  Not long after I got home, my other brother called to say that he had heard from our brother's wife that Hospice had been there to check on him, and they believe that he is in a rapid decline and probably won't last the week.  So, yes, we are very thankful that we went when we did and that our brother was still alert enough to enjoy our visit and communicate some special things with us, and vice versa. 

Because of the expectations of these next days and weeks, I will probably not be spending much time blogging. I know many of you have already been praying for our family, and I truly, truly appreciate it.  I will let you know as I can when things happen...but I just didn't want you to wonder what happened to me if you don't hear from me for awhile.

God bless you all...and hug your families close.  Take care of any "issues" that could possibly be between you while you can.  None of us know when our day will come that we are called to our heavenly home...so don't put off til tomorrow what needs to be done now!   And most importantly, be sure of your relationship with Christ! There is nothing more important than this!