A funeral and a birthday. The circle of Life.

Last week was such a mixture of emotions for me. My Grandpa Pope passed away at the age of 92. He was my last living grandparent. As a family we were all relieved that he could finally be at peace. After all of his suffering and long and lonely days he is now with my Grandma and with our Savior. His body is not a prison for him anymore and he can do the things that he has been unable to do for many years. Although we are all happy for this it is hard to think that he is really gone. My family has lost all four grandparents in two years and there is such a big painful void that cannot be described in words. I miss them all so very much. I have had such a hard time to realize that they are all really gone. I wish so badly there was a cellphone to heaven where I could at last hear their voices again, for they are still so alive in my heart and in my mind. The value of Resurrection has never been so real to me as when I have stood at four funerals and watched the casket lid close on the people that I loved so much and then having that comforting peace that I will see them again. Words cannot describe the thankfulness in my heart to my Savior for that gift. I know without a doubt that they are still near me, I can feel their love in my life and I believe that they are always watching over me and all of my family members because "families are truly forever."

After we made our way home from the funeral, we had to switch emotions and celebrate a second birthday for our little guy. We had a great day with him. David's Mom was able to stay the weekend with us (She was kind enough to babysit for us while we went to the funeral for two days) We were able to celebrate with some good friends and their kids and had a great time. I even was able to create a Mickey Mouse cake with a round cake pan and a muffin pan for the ears. The birthday boy was a little tired though, as it was nap time when we had the party and he kept falling asleep at the table. It was so fun to see the look on his face when I set the cake down in front of him. He turns out to be quite the pro at blowing out candles.

I have been reflecting on the the interesting circle of life. With birthdays, weddings and funerals I have learned that life is so precious. These moments in life are so fleeting. I have learned to value time spent with loved ones because you don't realize how much you miss them until they are not there anymore. I have learned to value the moments with my kids because soon they will be grown and that special time when they are young is so short. I think that the secret to life is simple to ENJOY IT, because it doesn't last long.

I also have to add some Halloween pics as I kept forgetting to get them posted on here. We had a fun Halloween night. The boys were able to enjoy the night with a couple of friends( We had a Frankenstein, mummy, zombie, Coca Cola can, spiderman and a hornet) and the weather was beautiful. I had so much fun doing the makeup on the boys this year. Kinda wierd though making your child look scary.