Grandpa's Obituary

Robert McNeil Morris Jr.

Robert McNeil Morris Jr., age 81, died July 29, 2008, at Queen Creek, AZ. Retired Chief Inspector for the Maricopa County Highway Department. Long time homing pigeon flyer. Survived by his wife LaReece Morris of Queen Creek, children: Lonnie Morris of Springerville, Randy Morris of Gilbert, Shanna Fuller of Queen Creek, Jay Morris of Gilbert, Cinda Rohan of Pinedale. Siblings: Osborne Morris, of Moncks Corner, SC, Wallace Morris of Mesa, Emogene Petersen of Snowflake, Luneil Johnson of Queen Creek, Elnora Wimmer of Mesa, Daisy Lou Orr of Mesa, John Morris of Queen Creek, Jim Morris of Mesa, Sandra Carter of Snowflake, Wendell Morris of Mesa and Linda Larson of Amalga, UT; 19 grandchildren and 35 great grandchildren. Preceded in death by his parents Robert M. Morris Sr., Marie Pauline Morris and brother Olin D. Morris. Services held Saturday, August 2nd, 10 AM, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Val Vista Stake Center, 1005 N. Voyager Gilbert, AZ 85234 Viewing held, Friday, August 1st, 7-9 PM at Bunkers Mortuary, 33 N. Centennial Way, Mesa, AZ 85201 Published in the East Valley Tribune on 7/31/2008

Grandpa's song

This song I added to my page "Can I have this Dance" is a song that reminds me of my grandpa from when I was young. Him and Cinda loved it and would sing it. I remember them singing it for talent shows and would dance to it when it played. So this has always been a song to me that I can hear anywhere and grandpa just pops in my head.

By the way....I told Cinda I added this song to my blog and she said as she drove grandpa down from the cabin Sunday night she sang this song to him. I thought it was so sweet and I am glad I remembered to add this song.

In loving memory of Grandpa Morris

My Grandpa Morris passed away today. I have so much to do and I am so tired but wanted to blog and get it all out. Plus this will be great for my journal. Grandpa was told he had 3 to 6 months to live about a month ago. He didn't believe it, he didn't want to talk about it so we did some things to prepare but left it alone. There wasn't much to do but enjoy our time with him. He has been at the cabin so I haven't seen him for a week but Sunday evening we got a call (while ending our visit with Emmie) that grandpa isn't doing well and they are bringing him home. This way he can be around his family and start getting help with Hospice. Well Monday I woke up and went to his house and you could tell this what it. He peeked him eyes open for a second as Hayden and I said hello to him in bed and let him know we were there. That's the last time he was alert to me. The rest of the day he slept. He would make his occasional sounds when he was in pain like Oi and uha. Hospice got him on some medication to make things more comfortable and all day we just watched him sleep as family and ward members came in to see him. I got home late last night and had a good sleep. I got up and got dressed and got there as fast as I could. When I got there I knew he was going to pass today. It was just a matter of when. He wouldn't respond to a thing. The Hospice people told us that sometimes they take longer to pass because he doesn't want to leave his family. That is so grandpa....he wants to be around us all the time and take care of us. So after noon we left the room and let grandma be alone with grandpa. She told him its ok to go, let him know she loved it and talked about their happy times. My Grandma's sister came to visit and went in the room. They were still talking about old times and they realized his breathing changed and he passed. Those of us there ran into the room and could tell he was gone. His shell of a body was left on that bed but Grandpa was not there anymore. We took our time all crying and we made calls to people who couldn't be there. Hospice got a hold of Bunckers and they came about a hour later to get his body. Before they got there we said good bye to him and some of the great grandkids (one being Hayden) sat on the bed next to him and sang some primary songs to him. When Bunkers came for him that was hard to let him leave and it was very emotional. But we all know he is better off and he lived a good long life. Saturday will be his funeral. I am making the program so I need to get going on it. And Cinda and I are doing the Obituary tonight. It happen so fast but it was a blessing because Grandpa couldn't stand being like this. He wouldn't have wanted to die slowly. Here is come pictures I have scanned of him for his funeral programs.


Grandpa as a baby

Grandpa as a teen hunting

Grandpa (1st on the left) with all his siblings and parents.

Just moved to Queen Creek, AZ from South Carolina in the early 1950's

Grandpa serving his Country

Just Married!

Grandpa, Grandma and their kids (my mom is the girl at the bottom)

Grandpa loved his pigeons

July 2008

1st visit with Emmie

Today was our 1st visit with Emmie. She lives with a foster family who lives over a hour away so we met half way at our tax office. It was a nice little hang out area because we have couches and toys in our waiting area. We got to spend about 5 hrs with her and a few family members took the time to stop by to meet her. Time flew by and we had a good time. She is a very good little girl. She was so quite, she listens really well, she is a happy little girl, and just so easy going. Hayden was confused at 1st but by the end of our visit he kept telling us how much he loves her. He was also sad to see her go home with her foster family. He kept asking why she wasn't going home with us. No matter what I said he didn't like the answer so I told him its because her room isn't ready. So he said when we got home we had to get it ready. But for now we will continue visits with her and she should be in our home some time next month.

Monti's - Hayden house

We met our friends for lunch today at Monti's in Tempe. On the way there I remembered the restaurant's building has lots of history to it and the name Hayden was in several places from what I remembered. So I told Hayden in the car the restaurant had his name on it and he was so confused but when we got there we showed him all the pictures and cool historic things they have on their walls. He really enjoyed the guns and the sword the most. The sword even had the name Hayden on it so he really liked that. Another thing he really liked is they give all the kids something called Wikki Stix while waiting for their meal. They are like strings dipped in wax and that you can created whatever you want out of them and they stick together. They were pretty cool. Its like a great craft for kids with out any mess. I didn't bring my camera so I had to use my camera phone so the pictures came out pretty dark but ooh well.

It's a Girl!

We got the email today that we are getting the 16 month old girl. Her name will be Emmie Lynn Ray! We are excited and have lots to do to get ready. We will 1st just get visits with her. For a month we will get at home and over night visits and then after that she will start living with us permanently. We just found out today so I feel so happy and anxious to get to know her and let Hayden meet her too. When I get to visit her I will take lots of pictures and post them. I am hoping it will be soon! Here is the letter I got today....

Your file is sent back to Dawn the case manager. The visits will begin, and the attorneys on the case will be notified that your a "Significant other" for the minor. Please contact Dawn at her email address as well. This case is assigned to Dawn, so all communication can go through her.

Once the case is transferred to the adoption unit you will have an adoption case manager. They will complete the necessary paperwork for the adoption. You will be able to apply for adoption subsidy to assist with some of the minors monthly needs. She will be eligible for State health insurance until the age of 18. You will be eligible to apply for attorney fee payment through the adoption subsidy program. If you have specific adoption questions you can e-mail me.

Thank you for your patience, I know you will do the best for this child.

Sharon CPS Specialist III

Night swimming

It seems this summer we have been swimming a lot more in the evening and night then we do during the day. Last night we were swimming and with the moon so bright I told Aaron it looked so pretty out and so I grabbed my camera. If I take pictures with my flash on you can see things better but not as we see them while swimming. So if I take pictures without the flash things turn out like we see them but sometimes look blurry. Its hard to find the balance...but I got some neat shots of our rock slide with the waterfall.

Possible adoption for us

In May we heard about this one year old girl who was eligible for adoption. The foster mom caring for her is one of Aaron's clients. So we asked her how could we possibly adopt her. We started to talk to the case worker and nothing was getting done. So here it is July and the little girl got a new case worker and its going pretty good now. We talk by email a few times a week and they are going through all the proper steps and paper work. So its looking pretty good for us that we might get to adopt her. I didn't want to say much before because if it doesn't work you have to explain over and over why it didn't work. I hate to speak too soon but I would love for people to know so we can have some prayers out there to help us through this. I can't see why this wouldn't work but we are hoping for a good, nice, easy process and also a process that this little girl will adjust to easily and that our son Hayden will adjust to also. Even though he tells us daily he wants a brother or sister we know this is more then he realizes and probably even more then we realize. We are used to one kid so this will be a change for us too but one we are excited to make.

What we know about this girl.....she is 16 months old. She is half Hispanic and half Caucasian , she had drugs in her system when born but isn't showing any bad signs of it. They said she could have minor potential needs. She possibly may need speech therapy when she is a little older. Overall she is a good little girl who just needs a family and lots of love. The caseworker told me today....

She appears to be a wonderful child, and I believe she would thrive in the placement. The transition into your home could be expedited as she can be seen as a significant other. I would estimate a month with overnight visits in your home. She will need to reside in the home for months before a petition to adopt can be filed. You can also apply for adoption subsidy to cover legal fees.

By the way when she says she would need to reside in our home for months before adoption can be filed, she means it takes months to finalize adoption. Just like when we got Hayden he was ours but we couldn't finalize the adoption for awhile in which once finalized we can then bless her and then be sealed to her. I will keep you all posted!

My adoption thoughts

As I wait each day I can't wait for our child to come home to us. I saw this poem and loved it. It explains how I feel each day.

Jay's Birthday and Morris family pictures

For my uncle Jay's 50th birthday they planned on having a BBQ. So I offered my home because we have a pool. Like always the pool party was crazy but fun. My brother Ryan walked out wearing a speedo but I didn't post those pictures. But it was really funny!

Before the party my grandparents and their kids (my mom's siblings) wanted family pictures together. So we drove to Gilbert and I took some shots for them. Its been a long time since they had a family picture done and with my grandpa's health they wanted to get pictures done soon. Here is some of the highlights. Click on each picture if you want to see it bigger.

Grandma and Grandpa Morris


Top- Cinda, my mom Shanna, Lonnie
Bottom- Jay, Grandma, Grandpa, Randy




Just the kids

Crazy rainy night

I love when it rains at night. I love the sound but last night was a little different for me. Not only was it raining so loud that it made me nervous something was being destroyed in my yard but we had a guest in our back yard that was really loud and bothered us all night. We had a frog! And those who know me know I am scared of frogs. Before going to bed Aaron said I should come look outside because our pool was full of water, over flooding with water where it was poring from our pool decking to our back porch. It was crazy. So we went out side where Aaron swept some of the water to the grass area and I snap shots of our flooded back yard and pool.







Well maybe a half hour later we were in bed saying our goodnights and I heard a weird sound. It sounded like a snore. We were confused and as we walked around the house I thought it was coming from outside. Once we opened the back door it was twice as loud. It sounded like a duck. Aaron grabbed his flashlight walking past the frog that was sitting there making this crazy loud noise. So we knew Hayden would love to see it and he was sleeping so I told Aaron to record it for him.








Then at one point he jumped in our pool, swam around and got in the cave of our rock slide which then the echo made the croaking even louder. After awhile we went to bed and I could hear him croaking all night. It was crazy but a funny night I will remember and Hayden loved watching the frog clip when he woke up.