Robert Foster 1920-2015

It is with mixed emotion that I write this post. My dear Grampa went to be with the Lord early this morning. He fell Friday afternoon and broke his hip. During the night, he developed pneumonia and went downhill quickly. After seeing him Saturday evening, I began praying that the Lord would merciful and not make him suffer long. He was on pain medicine to keep him comfortable, but it was causing some side effects which made him very confused. While I'm sad to lose him, I know he's in a far better place. I don't just say that to make me feel better. Grampa Foster was a godly man who loved the Lord and realized long ago that believing in Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord was the only way to be saved. He served the Lord faithfully for many years, pastoring the First Baptist Church in Port Jervis, NY for over 40 years. Even after he retired, he still used the gifts the Lord gave him. He filled the pulpit in several churches and even taught a Sunday School class just a few years ago, at 90+ years old!
 My Grama passed away 4 years ago. While I was closer with my Grama, the past 4 years allowed me to grow closer to my Grampa. While he was in NY, we would talk almost weekly. A year ago, he came to TX for a few months and we checked in on him a couple times a week. I am so thankful AC and AK had those times with him. He was so sweet and gentle to them. EK also had a special place in his heart, even though he didn't see her as much. He was always so patient with her and didn't get annoyed when she was having a hard time. AC was able to get a hug almost weekly from him at church on Sunday mornings. We were able to spend his 94th birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas together this year. So many sweet memories...
While many called him Pastor Foster, I called him Grampa. He was such a kind Grampa. He was gentle, playful and downright silly at times. We spent a lot of time with my mom's parents as kids (since my Mom was an only child after her brother passed away in 1969). They took each grand kid for a week at a time over the summer. Grampa always loved to have little adventures. They took me many places while I was with them for my week. They came to visit us often and we went there quite a bit as well. They only lived 2 hours away when we lived in NY. When my family moved to TX in 1996, I still spent some time with them since I was at Houghton College in western NY. When I moved here in 1999, I didn't get to see them as often. I know it was as hard for them as it was for me and the rest of my family. Even though we didn't see each other that much, I know they prayed for me. They prayed for my future spouse, then prayed for Keith and me, and more recently prayed for my children. Many times on the phone Grampa would pray for me before we said good-bye. I am so thankful for the impact he had on my life! 

Here are a few pictures I found that show what a great Grampa he was!


Grama always packed great picnic lunches!

Grama wrote on the back of this photo that he pulled my tooth.


This picture was from their trip to TX for his 90th birthday. That was the last time we saw Grama before she went Home.

Here's a picture from his 94th birthday, just a few months ago.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Autism Awareness Day

It's hard to believe this is our 10th Autism Awareness Day. Ironically, I also sat in EK's annual ARD this morning. To be honest, life is so busy right now that I haven't had time to think much about this day approaching. Maybe that's good. When I have too much time to think about how autism has changed our family's life, I sometimes get discouraged. When EK was first diagnosed in February 2009, we thought that if we got her in the right therapies, she'd start Kindergarten in a mainstream classroom. That was our goal and early on, it seemed doable. We changed her diet (which by the way, I don't regret at all. I truly believe it's helped her to be the happy child she is.), we did occupational therapy, speech therapy, ABA therapy, vitamins/supplements, school preschool program for kids with autism and many other things. Fast forward a few years  and we saw no real improvements. In fact, she stopped talking a few months before her 4th birthday. Those begin...
Read more

3 days in a row...

EK started back to preschool on Monday morning. After 2 weeks off for Christmas break, I was a little nervous about how sad she'd be when I dropped her off and how long it'd take her to get back in the routine. When I picked her up on Monday, I was SO relieved to hear that she hardly fussed that morning. She was happy all morning long! She participated in music therapy by playing the guitar. She worked on fine motor tasks with her teacher and she colored with a marker! This last thing is a BIG deal. For some reason, the past 6 months or so, she would NOT hold a writing utensil. I'm not sure if it's because I used to tell her constantly to not put it in her mouth or if it became a sensory thing or a control thing. Whatever the reason, she just wouldn't even try to hold a marker, pen, crayon, etc. If you put it in her hand, she'd drop it or throw it. We literally had to firmly hold her hand around the writing utensil to keep it in her hand long enough to scribble ...
Read more

3 months ago today...

Most of you who are reading this know what our family is going through right now. It was 3 months ago today that we took EK to a developmental pediatrician. We left there with a diagnosis of autism. Even though we knew it was coming, it was tough to swallow. We've done so much research, reading books, searching on the internet, and talking with those who've been down the same road. There is so much information out there. We're trying to be proactive and do all we can to help her live a normal life and I'm praying like I've never prayed before. She's still our sweet 3 year old daugher, our firstborn. Her diagnosis doesn't change our love for her. I'm not even sure it changes our dreams for her. We know that God is able to completely heal her, but regardless of the outcome, we know that our God has a plan for her that will bring Him glory. I'm so thankful to be the mama to EK and AC. They are such sweet blessings, even on the hard days. :)
Read more