More to come...

On behalf of our family, I would personally like to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you for your continued love and support. I cannot begin to express the many ways we have felt uplifted and sustained while addressing the many tasks over the past few weeks. We have all had many different roles to play from preparing each other, our children, ourselves and most importantly in helping assist our parents in making this transition. We have felt an all encompassing comfort that has come through an outpouring of love on all fronts. Letters, cards, phone calls, flowers, refreshments, hugs, prayers, have all sustained us when our own strength has faultered. We will forever be grateful for the devout friendships that have withstood the test of time. May blessings abound in return for the goodwill you have demonstrated toward us.

I have another purpose for this entry. While we have brought this many people whom we love together in one place, I thought we should continue to take advantage of this great opportunity. I specifically chose the name of this blog to pertain to our family as a whole. That way we could continue to keep anyone interested updated on what's going on with the Hatt family children and on any of dad's upcoming adventures. It's important that we keep moving forward. I remember when Randy and I had been planning on adding another baby to our family, however after mom's diagnosis, we were no longer sure of the timing. We weren't sure how quickly her progression would be and if my time would be divided between Alberta and Ontario. We knew it would be a struggle to endure an additional pregnancy under the best of circumstances as I don't handle pregnancy very well, but if there was to be traveling involved as well, it would be an additonal strain. After much contemplation, we decided we needed to add this little one to our family and were expecting shortly after. I can remember how excited both mom and dad were at the news that there would be a new baby welcomed into our family. Dad's response especially stuck with me as he said "What's great is that life is continuing." And so it shall be. Life will continue. We will continue to have new experiences as our children grow and our families expand. We would love to share this wonderful/difficult/amazing/frusterating/rewarding experience with you. Please join us on this journey.

Obituary

Renie Jane Hatt
1949-2009

Surrounded by family and sustained by her faith, Irene (Renie) Jane Hatt (Dionne), 59, former resident of Fredericton, New Brunswick, passed away Saturday afternoon at the Regional Hospital in North Bay, Ontario. A loving mother, constant companion, and cherished friend, she was a woman of great strength and grace.

She is survived by her husband Blaine; daughters Kara (Stephen Aina), Kalie (Colin Kilburn) and Kendra (Randy Cosman); sons Justin (Kaiti Hatt), Jarom and Jonan; grandchildren Gabriel, Gavin, Seth, Simon, Paxton, Carter, Ryan, Jill and Gracie; her mother Zelda Dionne; brothers Michael and Patrick, sisters Mary and Jennie and their spouses and children.

She will be remembered for her tenderness, compassion, patience and unwavering faith. Although her time on this earth was all too brief, the lives of her family, friends, brothers and sisters in the gospel, former students and colleagues are forever changed for the blessing of having known and loved her.

A visitation will be held at 7pm on Thursday, June 11th and the funeral service will take place at 2pm on Friday, June 12th at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at 986 Smythe St. in Fredericton. Donations in memory of Renie may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society through McAdam's Funeral Home.

Peaceful parting

Mom passed away peacefully this afternoon at 4:00pm exactly. We sincerely appreciate the many prayers and well wishes that have been offered on our behalf. We have felt strengthened and attribute that blessing to our Father in Heaven and the kindness, generosity and thoughtfulness of others, their prayers and their faith.
Please check back to the blog for the exact time and location for the memorial service and funeral. As of now we are expecting the memorial service in North Bay to be at the beginning of this week and the funeral in Fredericton to be next Friday. These services will be open to the general public and all who wish to attend are welcome.

Again many thanks,
warmly,
Blaine, Kara, Kalie, Kendra, Justin, Jarom and Jonan Hatt and family

Nothing but Peace

As I look back over the posts that Kara and I have been writing over the last few weeks, I have noticed a common theme; that of peace. I cannot begin to tell you how profoundly this priniciple has been impressed upon our being. Allow me to share how prominant a virtue this has been in our lives. Peace was what mom felt when she heard of her diagnosis. During numerous conversations that were had during the course of her journey, peace was her greatest desire and was her most frequent request in her prayers on behalf of we, her children and most importantly, dad. Over the course of her almost continuous 18 months of chemo treatments she was able to live her life to the fullest and continue to bring comfort and peace to those around her instead of us comforting her. On so many occasions as I would receive a phone call from people who were distraught over having heard of mom's news, I would tell them to call her. I would tell them of the comfort they would find in the peace she would share. They would see she was still they same person who was forever the loving, caring, compassionate lady she had always been. They would always relate to me having felt so much better having spoken to her after their conversation. Amazing how we continued to draw strength from her, even through her trial. And last but not least, the peace she has upon her face and throughout her very body as she rests comfortably. I cannot begin to describe the solace we find, as we keep a bedside vigil, in the calm expression upon her face. She truly has an angelic countenance.

We have continued to be in awe of the comments nurses, doctors and visitors have made about how comfortable she remains. We take great comfort in her constant tranquility. Please note that we have been posting photos of mom throughout the past few years that she may be remembered by her beautiful smile and vivacious personality. We will not post any current photos as her present condition does not depict her as the person we all know and love.

cuddle time

I ran to the hospital again this morning. Dad was there visiting with Mom when I arrived. I sat on the bed next to Mom and chatted to her a bit...she slowly reached out her arm to me. I was unsure what she wanted but she let me know...she hooked her hand around my shoulder and pulled me into the crook of her shoulder so that my head rested on her arm and shoulder and drew me close. I snuggled with her like this for a good 30 minutes while she rested comfortably and as I chatted with Dad. She did the same thing with Kendra and Jonan yesterday...quite a treat!

Dad and I discussed how Mom has been teaching us about peace and demonstrating how to integrate it into our lives instead of tackling every obstacle head on with intensity and fight, but rather to approach it with an accepting spirit and try to conquer it by meandering through it like a river eventually gets through a mountain without disturbing the rock that it has conquered. Mom is the epitome of peace and serenity.

Mom's color has worsened today and her breathing is shallow and sporadic. She was quite agitated periodically today, an indication that she either needed to be turned or have her medication increased. She continues to attract numerous visitors all day long and though she enjoys it, I think she gets worn out but the family enjoys being able to chat with loved ones none the less. A continued big thanks for all the prayers and well wishes.

* this photo was taken December 2007

the Day of Many Visitors

This morning Jennie and I ran up to the hospital (and beat Dad there who was in his car!) and so the three of us entered her room together (well, actually Jennie sprinted in ahead :)
I said to Mom "look Mom, Dad is here to visit with you!"...she right away turned her head to look for him and caught his eye and flashed him a flirtatious smile. (as flirtatious as you can get in her condition but we KNEW, once a flirt always a flirt...I'm so glad we did not inherit THIS quality :) She reached out her hand to him and he took it and she wrinkled her lips. I said "Dad, I think she wants a kiss from you." Dad leaned over and kissed her tenderly and they had three very tender kisses and she told him she loved him, aside from Mom, there was not a dry eye in the room. It was such a precious moment to witness, I'm so glad I was there for that. Gotta admit, they are so awe-inspiring together...makes you want to work a little harder in your daily relationship with your husband/wife when you witness their connection and devotion.

Mom then slept from 9am to 3pm and then she had a FLOOD of visitors from 3pm to 9pm. She had 8 visitors aside from family members! One of which was a local clergyman who visited and Dad kindly expressed his appreciation as he assured him that when it comes to religion and faith they were covered :) She would perk up periodically as she would hear a funny story or a comical interaction between a couple of family members and would express her interest with a wide smile and then fall back to sleep. Thank you all so much for your love, well wishes and prayers...we feel the love in its abundance.

**this photo was taken fall of 2008

Resting comfortably

Mom is resting comfortably. She still has a lot of fluid on her abdomen, her surgeon was in today and was going to drain it but decided that it would actually be more traumatic on her system and since she is comfortable has decided to leave her as is. Mom is less responsive today and we are taking turns being by her side 24/7. The nursing staff is great and they have become close friends. Her room has become a haven where resides a strong feeling of warmth and light and many who enter comment on the feeling of her room. Mom is peaceful and her spirit is strong. She is sleeping most of the time and we are cherishing our last few days with her.

Sunday news

Mom had a decent day today. At one point she even sat up with her legs off the bed and insisted that she walk to the bathroom (even though she has a catheter in) the nurses explained that she had a catheter but she was quite decided that a trip to the washroom was in order. She made the trip without incident despite her weak state. We were relieved of that. She also ate half of a banana Popsicle (who eats the banana ones anyway? guess they save them for the hospital patients and think they won't really care :) She also called Dad "handsome" and asked him to hold her hand for quite a while.
We are grateful for parents that put so much time and energy and personal sacrifice into building that unified family. We are blessed to have the support of each other and love surrounding us. When one of us are weak another is strong and so the scenario continues. I'll cry now and comfort another 2 hours from now. The nurses have made numerous comment on Mom and how peaceful she is and how accepting she is of everything. Also they have asked us on several occasions how we can be "alright" with what is happening. We've had some great talks with the nurses and their observances are correct...although we experience much pain we are accepting of what is inevitable and we know that Mom's spirit will live on literally and also manifesting itself within each of us, her children. We have talked about how Mom's sense of humor is in Jonan, how her passion is in Justin, her confidence in Kalie, etc. We have been blessed and continue to be blessed by this amazing woman. Dad is having a hard time now that Mom can't have "talks" with him, he is losing more than just a companion, he is losing his best friend. He is doing a great job handling all of this and manages to keep an amazing perspective. I can only imagine how much more painful this is for him. They have a marriage to be envied...full of loyalty, adoration and respect, please continue to keep him in your prayers as he endures this challenging time with finesse and strength as ever our father does. Your kindness and well wishes and prayers have been so appreciated and we send our thanks.

**this photo was taken fall 2008