II Corinthians 5:8

We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body,

 and to be present with the Lord. 

Yesterday morning, July 24, 2012, at 10:05, at the age of 63, my husband went to sleep in my arms and woke in the arms of Jesus.

I didn't say goodbye to him. I told him I would see him later. He's at rest now with the One Who died for him.

He had wanted me to write his obituary. I thought how do you put a person's life in a few short paragraphs. I wanted to say so much more, because there's so much more to Jerry Rice than a few lines on a piece of paper.

The most important thing I wanted to put is how he gave his life to his family and to serving our God with all his heart.

He wanted everyone to know how much he had loved the kids at Greenville Christian Academy and how much he had missed them this past year.

And he wanted everyone to know that we have a good God who has been faithful to us.

I could never express how thankful I am to everyone for all the support and love that has been given to us through Jerry's illness. We love you.

What A Day That Will Be

"What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see."

I knew Monday would come, but I wasn't ready. It was a very emotional day.

We knew that the cancer was progressing because Jerry had been getting weaker and the transfusions had not been lasting as long.

He fell early Saturday morning and scraped and bruised his back. Then Monday the oncologist sent us to the hospital for Jerry's transfusions of blood and platelets. They had given him the first bag of platelets when the nurse called me out of the room. She was crying and I knew something was wrong. She kept trying to stop crying and she kept saying, " I know I'm not suppose to get emotional, but I love you folks so much." Then she told me that Jerry's vital signs showed that his body was shutting down and he might not make it through the day.

I think I was in shock for a few minutes. She had called our oncologist and he said the transfusions weren't helping any longer. I had promised Jerry that I wouldn't let him die in a hospital. So Monday I took him home and the doctor arranged for Hospice to start coming in to help us.

It has been a rough few days, but we have had  a lot of support and love from family and friends.  Sometimes when it's hard, Jerry and I just hold each other and start singing -

There is coming a day,
When no heart aches shall come,
No more clouds in the sky,
No more tears to dim the eye,
All is peace forever more,
On that happy golden shore,
What a day, glorious day that will be.

What a day that will be,
When my Jesus I shall see,
And I look upon His face,
The One who saved me by His grace;
When He takes me by the hand,
And leads me through the Promised Land,
What a day, glorious day that will be.

There'll be no sorrow there,
No more burdens to bear,
No more sickness, no pain,
No more parting over there;
And forever I will be,
With the One who died for me,
What a day, glorious day that will be.

What a day that will be,
When my Jesus I shall see,
And I look upon His face,
The One who saved me by His grace;
When He takes me by the hand,
And leads me through the Promised Land,
What a day, glorious day that will be.

 

Jerry told me he's going to go to sleep in my arms and wake in the arms of Jesus.

 

We love you.

A Boy Once Again

The other morning my husband woke up remembering when he was young. He loved summertime. He said he wanted to be playing baseball, riding his green bike, swimming in one of the farm ponds close by, and showing our grandson, Ethan, how to frog gig.

It’s hard sometimes not being able to do all the things that you once enjoyed.

But then he thought about Heaven and how wonderful Heaven is going to be. And he thought about how much God loves him. We are so blessed.

This poem is written by me through my husband’s eyes.

A Boy Once Again

I woke to dreams of yesterday

Days that seem so far away.

To a baseball flying through the air

And in my mind I knew I was there.

Playing baseball on a summer day

And enjoying a wonderful time of play.

Going swimming all the day long

Remembering when my body was strong.

Sneaking watermelons from a neighbor’s farm

There was so many what could it harm.

Taking a ride on my bike of green

Through country roads while I day dream.

Hearing the crickets and frogs at night

Going frog gigging with the pale moon light.

Hearing my father call my name

“Come home, my son, it’s time to rest.”

And then I awaken to another dream

Of a beautiful place with fields of green.

Where I hear my Father call once more

“Come home, my son, it’s time to rest.”

- Patricia Rice

We love you!

Old Friends

A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same.

What a great week we had with visits from old friends.

Dale and Dorothy Taillon  from Owensboro, Kentucky came in Thursday.  Jerry and Dale became friends in elementary school. He was also Jerry's hunting buddy when we lived in Kentucky. They have been special friends who have loved us and have always been there for us. Dorothy helped me through a rough time in my life with a weekly Bible study and prayer time. She is such a great encourager.

I have to confess this picture is an older picture. In all the excitement I forgot to get their picture.

We enjoyed the time that we had with them.

Then Friday, Bro. Don Woodard came in for a visit from Virginia where he pastors a church. Bro. Woodard went to Bible School with Jerry and has been a great friend for a lot of years. We spent a lot of time talking about old times.

We are thankful for friends and memories.

Vacation Bible School

This last week, our church had Vacation Bible School. This was probably the first time in 39 years that we were unable to be at VBS.

We still remember Vacation Bible School when we were young. Every summer when school was out, VBS started the very next week. We went immediately right in to VBS. And then it lasted for two weeks. There was no break, no sleeping in. It was still better than being in school all day.

The little church we went to was a newly being built basement church with no air conditioner and the worst part, NO INSIDE TOILETS. They had two outhouses - one for the girls and one for the boys.

And I know you won't believe this, but my husband was a rascal in those days. He was probably the first kid to almost get suspended from VBS for locking a boy inside the outhouse.

Our mothers always helped out in VBS and we remember the variety of snacks they had each day - Cookies and Kool-Aid. And this was before paper cups. Everyday we drank kool-aid from iced aluminum glasses that had to be washed by hand each day.

But it was still a great time. I can remember the crafts and how proud we were of what we made and receiving the certificate saying we completed VBS. And I still remember singing the songs. My favorites were "HASH" and "My Lord Knows The Way Through The Wilderness."

Good childhood memories.

We do want to keep you up to date on Jerry's health. This past week was a little hard.  Each week Jerry seems to be getting weaker and runs a temperature daily.  He now is getting transfusions twice a week. The doctor could not give us a time schedule, but did say that the leukemia is progressing.

We still have a good God who we know loves us and has blessed us more than we deserve.

We love you and thank you for your  love and prayers.

Memorable Evening

I was having a hard time deciding what to get Jerry for Father's Day. The last month he has been giving away all of his belongings to different people. He kept telling me he didn't need anything.

One day Kyla wanted me to make her a lantern like the ones on the movie "Tangled". I had no idea how to make a lantern, so I looked it up on the internet. I found a place that sells them and you can actually set them to soar into the sky. They are called Chinese Wish Lanterns.

I decided that would be a great present for Jerry. The thing that makes him the happiest is watching his grand children laugh and have fun.

It didn't work out for us to do it while the family was here, because the wind didn't cooperate with us. It has to be below 5 mph. Well last night the wind was only 3 mph. Our adventure began. We sat Jerry in a lawn chair and Neal had to do the work, because the rest of us were afraid we were going to catch something on fire. But after reading the directions a dozen times and watching videos on how to do it we were ready. It was so great. I told the girls they were part of a fairy tale. It was so exciting to watch the lanterns as they floated into the air and floated off into the distance until you couldn't see them any longer.

As I watched them float off into the distance, I knew I didn't have to make a wish. I knew our God already knew all my wishes and prayers. And as Rapunzel says, "It was the BEST DAY EVER."

  

I did want to give you an update on Jerry.  He still goes weekly for blood transfusions and platelets. Each week we can tell he's growing a little weaker and the transfusions aren't lasting as long. Some days he sleeps a lot. But he does have some good days and we treasure every one that the Lord allows him.  One of the hardest things for Jerry is not to be able to go to church. Usually by Sunday, his blood is low again and he's too weak.

We still covet your prayers and appreciate all the love and support.

We love you!!

 

The greatest gift I ever had
Came from God; I call him Dad!
~Author Unknown

I want to wish a Happy Father's Day to my dad, my husband, and my four sons. Jerry was so blessed to get to see three of our sons this weekend.

I'm so thankful that my Dad, John Knight,  is still living. He'll be 89 years old in July. He still has a great sense of humor and I always enjoy talking to him. He's been a great Dad.

Mark, Neal, Scott, and Jerry

Our son, Scott, and our grandson, Greg





Our son, Neal and our granddaughters, Brylee, Hayden, and Kyla



Our son, Mark, and our grand children, Alexis and Gavin




Our son, Aaron, his wife, Jackie, and our grandchildren, Emma,
Ethan, Evan, and Elena

 

Alexis, Maria, Mark, Gavin, Lisa, Scott, Greg, Patricia, Jerry, Hayden, Neal, Brylee, Amy, and Kyla