Howell Family: It's been a long week.....that means a long post!

I guess it is already another Saturday, 10 days since the last post, Luke's birthday is next week, and it's almost Halloween! I'm not gonna lie,the last two weeks were pretty long. After my appointment on the 8th, we all headed down to Nashville for the day and night to visit Luke's mom in the hospital. Luke brought the kids and me back Tuesday, and he rode back down by himself. He didn't really have a plan as to how long he would stay, it just depended on the situation as it unraveled. He ended up staying with his family until Friday or Saturday (it was a long blur of a week). He was able to go with his dad to the doctor, visit and sit with his mom, and talk with his family. His mom passed away Thursday around midnight, and the family all went back up to be together for a few hours. They had to meet at the funeral home Friday afternoon to get all the services planned out. By the time he went back to his dad's house it got too late for Luke to drive home. I guess it was Saturday when he came home, later in the afternoon.

We knew the times and dates for the services, so Luke went into work for a few hours on Sunday. The plan was for him to go to work for a few hours Monday, and then we'd head down to Nashville Monday evening. He didn't make it into work that day, so we drove on down late in the afternoon, and tried to get ready for a long 2 days. We went to his dad's house, ate supper, hung out, and then headed over to stay with his best friend and wife. The visitation was all day Tuesday, starting at 11AM for family. We actually didn't pull out of the parking lot until after 8:40 PM. We kept the kids with us until around 3, and I took them over to a friends' house. THANKS Ethridges! Sorry for the mess and hassle of an exploding diaper in your child's bed. Even not being a blood relative was emotionally draining and tiring. I can't imagine the feelings and emotions of Luke's 5 siblings and father and himself. It was good to see so many faces from Luke's childhood--church, baseball teams, high school friends-- and from college and our years in Nashville. His aunts and uncles and some cousins were in from Millington, Memphis, & Dickson, TN and California, Georgia, and Louisiana. There was a lot of support, and I am thankful Luke has had so much support from these people. There are people in your life who you KNOW would be there at a time like this, even friends' parents from when you were 11 years old, and they were all there at the visitation or funeral. Even the friends who are across the country sent emails and cards to let him know they were thinking and praying for him.

I'm not sure if Luke slept any Tuesday night, and he was up & showered before me on Wednesday morning. The funeral was at his parents' church, and the burial was at Middle Tennessee Veterans Cemetery. It was a long drive going 25 MPH on back-roads but the trees and the hills were amazing for the drive out. The service there was just a few short minutes, they then took the casket and did the burial while we got to talk for about 30 minutes, and then told us when it was completed. We were all able to then go out to the grave. We sang another song outside & gave people a chance to share anything they wanted. We drove back to the church to eat lunch with the family, and then headed back to Louisville.

Luke doesn't get much sleep as it is, 4-5ish hours a night maybe,but I really don't know how much sleep he has gotten in the past 2 weeks. And he came back to messes at work that he has to deal with now. We went on Landon's field trip Thursday morning, and then he went into work in the evening, Friday, and today. He'll be back at work tomorrow to finish out the work week. Hopefully next week will be better!

HOWELL, Teddie Jean "Miss Teddi"Age 67 of Nashville, TN. Passed away October 12, 2012. The daughter of the late Carl F. and Ina Brasher Douse and was born October 3, 1945 in San Diego. She lived in Nashville 42 years and was a faithful member of the Crieve Hall Church of Christ. Miss Teddi worked 21 years for the Crieve Hall Preschool. She was also a foster parent to 35 foster children for Agape for over 16 years. She is survived by her husband of 44 years, Bruce D. Howell and six children, Christy (John) Kirchner, Robert (Stacy) Howell, Mindy (Jeff) Black, Jeff (Kim) Howell, Luke (Emily) Howell and Chris Howell; she is "Goodmama" to 9 grandchildren, Carmen, Marlo & Violet Black, Jay & Mason Kirchner, Brynne & Garrett Howell, Landon & Lucy Howell; sister, Merrily Welden; brother, Richard T. (Tammy) Douse and many nieces, nephews and cousins. Visitation will be Tuesday, October 16, 2012, from 12-8 p.m. at Woodbine Funeral Home, Hickory Chapel, 5852 Nolensville Road and Wednesday from 9:30-10:30 a.m. at the church. Funeral services will be conducted Wednesday, October 17, 2012, at Crieve Hall Church of Christ, 4806 Trousdale Dr., at 10:30 a.m. Interment Middle Tennessee Veterans Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Crieve Hall Preschool c/o Jody Hupka or Camp Kalos c/o of Crieve Hall Church of Christ