I met with David Archuletta

I'm back! Well after my brush with life - I had the great pleasure of meeting David. He came to our Stake and spoke to us for an hour. He sang 4 songs. He sang the primary song about Nephi. Oh my goodness. As soon as he opened his mouth, I had chills. His voice was like a waterfall channeling the spirit. If you did not feel the spirit when he sang, you had to be dead. He also sang - Be Stiill My Soul, The Spirit of God, and How Great Thou Art. I was so happy that I chose to go. Then after the fireside, I told him I was the principal of the virtual school and we took this picture together. All my girl students are going to get a real kick out of this one. Especially when I tell them about my friend David Archuletta. LoL ~ I will get milage off of this one. I am just so cool ~ LOL!

Hospital - I am still here

Hello Family - great news! I am still here. For those who have not heard, I had a brief, very sobering run in with leaving this place called earth, but decided to stay. I guess the loss of my beautiful girl was too much for me and on July 17th, I was in congestive heart failure and A-fibrillation. My lungs had filled with fluid and the top of my heart was beating really fast (180 bpm) while the bottom was slow.

It was pretty scary, but I was not afraid to leave. It was like I was given a choice. You want to be with your wife - fine - you want to stay with your kids - well choose one. Then get on with it. I had taken her loss really hard - although I was glad she was out of pain, I missed (and miss) her something terrible. She is the love of my life. 32 years - is a lifetime ~

Well I think I was given a wake up call. I really felt I needed to be here for my kids and grandkids and so I asked to stay. And here I am.

The doctor (cardiologist) gives me thumbs up and says my recovery is going great. I am on a bunch of meds and am now a pill poppin grandpa! LOL! I went back to work this week 1/2 days. I still need a nap in the afternoon. My heart beat was only 44 as of Monday and now is up to 50 as they continue to adjust my meds. It needs to go up about 10 more beats per minute. So I had 3 square meals per day - nurses - and a bed pan - LOL! What a vacation.

Happy 4th of July

Tony and Amber got to the parade route with the boys over 2 hours early.
They were excited for the parade. They got us a great spot that had lots of shade. Grandpa wore his funny hat and all the boys wanted to try it on. Of course we had to take their picture.

Jacob

Logan

Isaac

The parade began and everyone was having fun~

Once the parade was over -everyone went home

to nap so they could come to grandpa's house for a picnic.
This is great granpa Tony's flag that was drapped over his casket and his real hat from the Navy. We are so proud of Great Grandpa and his serving his country.

We honor him each Memorial Day and 4th of July.

Then after all that fun - The parade - the naps - the picnic at Grandpa's - we all went to the fireworks. Again, Tony, Amber, and the boys got there 2 hours early and we had the best spot. As the sun went down, it got cooler, and there was a nice breeze. Then it finally got dark and the sky lit up with fireworks. What a great day to be together as a family.

Grandma is missed

It is so unbelievable that my girl has been gone for over a month now. I miss her something terrible. Here is a copy of the post I have in her guestbook. If you have not posted in her guestbook - please do so. I am going to keep it online. http://legacy.com/gb2/default.aspx?bookid=4411058721175


June 08, 2009
This is a true love story! No woman has ever in the history of man been loved more. My beautiful bride sleeps, her poor tired and weary body having exhausted itself in enduring to the end. Yet she has been victorious in keeping her faith to her last breath. Now the baton has passed to me. I hold the torch high - my love, devotion, and eternal committment to be her partner can not, will not, ever be dampened by the trials of life. The grief of these past weeks, the lonliness, and mourning, will now metamorphasize into the beautiful memories created in our 32 years of marriage. From our 2 beautiful boys, and their wonderful wives, to our four delightful granchildren, momma's memories shall be treasured. Finally, with patience, the day will come, and I shall embrace her again. For when we were married, we did not vow 'till death do you part' but 'for all time and for all eternity'. So you see she is still my true love, the story lives on ...
~
James Pirotta,
Tampa, Florida


Pictures from today at the cemetary ~



Today - Tony and Greg took me to the cemetary and we placed her marker. The man did such a beautiful job making it. I was very pleased with the way it turned out.

Grandpa's Little Princess

Arianna is getting bigger already. She is so beautiful ~

It's a Girl

IT"S A GIRL .......

It's Grandma and Grandpa Pirotta's first pink bundle in 32 years!!!!! Greg and Chirlie had a baby girl at 5:01 pm today. She was a 7 pound 4 oz bundle. It is our fourth grandchild and the first girl born into our little family in 32 years. Grandma could not be more excited and grandpa could not be more broke. lol - If it is pink and within the surrounding 20 miles - we own it. hahaha

It has been a busy week. Grandma also fell and broke 5 bones in her body. She broke her humerous bone in 3 places, her pinky, and the back of her hand. She can not use either side of her body. She has been hurting all week. But the new baby has brought new joy to a very trying week for her. Keep her in your prayers.

Tony also had a great week! He went to the state capital with four of his students. They were chosen for a bill they wrote and asked the legislature to pass. Tony and his students have been on the news for the last three days. Way to go Tony!

This is so exciting

I am so excited about blogging! I have fertilized our little tree trunk and it has already begun to get branches. With Lynn, Gary, and Justin's family we have the very strong Shook branch started. With me and Tammy the Pirotta branch. Yet with Arlene, and Stan the Thompson branch. A tree with three branches is a very cool start, but my tree needs lots of branches. So please get all your children and grandchildren to participate. This idea is going to connect a family so scattered across the country into one tree - one family. In days gone by, we use to have family reunions where everyone would come, but with miles between us expanding, it is harder to achieve. This is a place where we can continue to tell our stories and relate to each other.

Our family is waiting on pins and needles for the first girl in 32 years. Sue comes from generations of all girls. Then she was swept off her feet into joining me in 32 years of producing boys. Tony and Greg, followed by Amber and Tony's three sons Jacob, Logan, and Isaac. Greg and Chirlie are due any day with their first and it is a girl. Grandma has already gone hog-wild at the stores (plural) and grandpa is just waiting patiently to hold his little grand-daughter for that first time.
There is something special about newborns. They are filled with secrets from the eternities. They are so soft, so pure and innocent. I will keep you posted. Love to all!

The Trunk

Hello family! Have I told you lately how much I LOVE You! To show you how a blog works, let me begin with Uncle Bobby's family and then later, I will blog about my family.

My Aunt Audrey (pictured left)- she was my life-saver one night. I love her so much for all she has done for me. I always enjoyed visiting her when I was growing up. Her house has many memories of love, laughter, and good food. My family has continued her 'Christmas Eve' traditions.

My oldest cousin - Lynn (pictured left above - on right). (oops - guess you are not suppose to say oldest) She is such a wonderful friend. We had so many good times together playing when we were little. We use to call spaghetti 'worms' and would tell the little guys we had to go eat worms. They all thought it was cool. When I visited her house in Hazelwood (I think) she would tell me about this old house where the witch lived. I was always scared to go past that house at night. Later, when we grew up, we shared several dating experiences on double dates. She married a great guy (Gary) and they live in PA.

Next there is Arlene (not pictured). She eloped and ran away with Stanley. It's kind of funny that they ran away to Florida. I wish they had stayed so we could be with them now. When we lived in Pittsburgh, Stan and Arlene became our closest friends. Our kids would play together and we shared many enjoyable nights playing games.

Laura (pictured left) was always good friends with my little brother Michael. They have always shared a special friendship. I have always loved her sense of strength. She is a special person.

Ray (not pictured) and I shared many great experiences camping out, playing ball at the campouts, and I have many memories of spending time with him and my Uncle Bobby.

Finally, there is Lisa (pictured left) and her husband Tim. Lisa is the baby of this family. I am so impressed by her calm, quiet spirit, that radiates a pure love for her family. I love Lisa!

So the Trunk has branched out - do you get the idea? Come blog!