Funerals

We have had a couple of funerals in the past month (November).

The first was Austen's mother.  She died of an heart attack and she was not even 50 years old.  It was unexpected and very hard for the whole family.  She had been living in Burley, Idaho, the past few years and the funeral was held up in Rupert, Idaho, at a theatre that she had been very involved with since moving there.  We meet Austen and Tosha and their kids up there on a Wednesday afternoon in mid-November. It was a sweet experience to share with them although our main job was to help the three little kids for whom a funeral can be a difficult time of sitting.

The stalls in the bathrooms had famous quotes on the
inside doors.  Here was the one in mine.

Angie had been very involved in the production of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"  (I think she was the director among other things.)  So someone brought the car that was used in the play and had it in front of the theatre.  The boys loved it.  Right now they don't understand the connection it had to their Grandma Angie, but in the future I think they will be glad to have these photos.

Getting a little ride from Grandpa Hall

A little conversation with Grandpa Hall--

 Cleaning up--Cooper and Niki helping their uncle Taylor with the tables after the dinner.

There is nothing quite like losing a parent.  It forever changes who you are and your place in the world and also your connection with the eternities.  It is part of the circle of life, but still unexpected and hard.

The other funeral we attended was for Nancy Holt.  She is our sweet neighbor who has struggled with brain cancer for the past 11 months.  It was been so sweet to watch our neighbors reach out and support the Holts during this time.  Nancy was in her early 70s.  She and Gordon are good people who are such great neighbors.  They always have a beautiful yard and amazing decorations for the holidays.  A week or so before her death, I took over some flowers and told Gordon that I wanted her to have flowers around to enjoy even though it was winter outside.  Gordon replied, "And there will be flowers again next spring."  I so appreciated his comment and his determination to keep on living despite the growing sadness of her impending death.  What a great example he has been to all of us of constant care and hope in a difficult situation.