Dad lived with my family for almost 2 ½ years and his health was declining. My family kept Daddy busy, the men from church would take him hunting and fishing, and my husband Lee, one of my sons Justin and my dog Molly would watch wrestling or watch a movie with him. The family pet which was a Jack Russell was more his than ours. They would literally fight over the covers when he would tell her it was time to go to bed. Dad was baptized at my church in 2003; since he had a broken back and couldn't lean back he was baptized in a wheelchair. There was not a dry eye in the place and he received a standing ovation. In November 2005, he was diagnose with an aortic aneurysm (located behind his belly button) size 5.5 and was given a year to live. He did not know about the time limit cause we kept the news from him. Well, that aneurysm grew to a 9.2, the biggest the doctors have ever seen. We just knew it would burst at any second and the doctors said it would be painful, he would have only 32 seconds to live. He also had Heart Disease, COPD, Stroke, High Blood Pressure and a broken back as well. Around August of last year after hearing Dad's stories over and over, I decided to write a book, so with a cheap Wal-mart cassette player in hand, Dad and I would sit out on the front porch a couple of hours a day and he would tell me stories, I would ask questions and finally I came up with a 500 page book titled "Sittin On The Porch." This book will never be published, for he has shared too much of himself in this book. Around the week of April 29 2008, he started sleeping too much; I'm talking 20 hours out of 24 per day as well as not eating. I put him in under Home Hospice so I would have help at home. On May 15 he had a small stroke but we sent him to the hospital anyway. Dad came home on May 15, hardly ate and mostly slept. On Friday, May 16 we notice a change in his breathing, more of a rattle, "the death rattle." I had this book that we got from hospice which showed me the signs and symptoms of death, and I was checking them off one by one every day. The following week I ask Loretta and Jill to come over here more often to not only give me a break, but to spend more time with Dad. On Friday, we held a four day vigil, my husband Lee, my sisters Loretta and Jill. On Saturday, we called in all of Dad's grandchildren and great grandchildren to come and visit Papa. And they all did, he asks why? Since this was not Christmas or Easter and I just told him he had been sick and they missed him. He was satisfied with that. We held his hand (when one would take their hand out of his tight grip, another hand would slide into his hand and so he always had someone hand.) We played his Bluegrass music and we would say, "Love you Daddy, and he would say to us girls, "Love you Darlin" or the grandchildren/great grandchildren would say, "Love you Papa,' and would say, "Love you Booger." Even Molly the dog was called Booger. I called in Pastor Ray and that afternoon with all the family and with several members from the church held a prayer service for Dad, he asks why? I told him he was sick and they were praying for him. He was satisfied with that. Pastor Ray even made a joke and told him he was losing his hair and he would soon look like the bald young pastor we have, Dad was tired but he gave Pastor Ray one of those "eat sh*t looks." On Sunday, May 25, his back was hurting so bad, for he could not sit up and we were turning him every couple of hours, but all he wanted to do was just sit up on the side of the bed, let his legs touch the floor and look out my back door window. So my husband Lee took his left side, my sister Loretta took his right side, my sister Jill took his feet and they slowing raised him up and turned him to look out the window and allow his feet to touch the floor. I sat on the bed and placed my back against his so he could sit up better. Once they had him I went around to see him and realized he was so tired he did not have the strength to look out the window, I had to raise his head up for him. After a few minutes he wanted to lie back in bed, even though Dad was so tired he was still able to communicate. On Monday, May 26 he slept most of the day; Lee had to start giving him morphine due to the pain he was experiencing throughout his body, small dosage but morphine as well. By now Jill had went home for she had a daughter to get off to school.