God be with you ‘til we meet again

It has been a very emotional week for our family.

Last Sunday evening Big Daddy’s sister Sherri passed away suddenly of a pulmonary embolism. She was only 38.

It’s hard enough to lose someone so suddenly, but it makes it even more difficult because she was so young.

She had a huge impact on my life before Big Daddy and I had even started dating. At the time Sherri was 18 and the young adult rep in the ward I was living in. I was in my mid-20’s and pretty focused on having a successful career and didn’t really have any interest in going to Church. Sweet Sherri was so diligent in doing her calling. She would stop by every week and invite me to go to church and invite me to all  the activities. Admittedly, at first I wasn’t very kind to her. I didn’t have any interest in going to Church or any interest in this little girl who insisted on bothering me every week. She was persistent…not because of me, but because it was part of her calling to keep visiting me. Eventually I looked forward to the weekly visit from Sherri. I don’t remember how long it took, but one week I decided that I would go to Church…not for me, but for Sherri. It wasn’t too long until I started to attend Church regularly. And eventually when Big Daddy came home from his mission I was sitting in Sunday School just waiting for him to show up. I know I wouldn’t be the person I am today or have the family I do without Sherri’s influence on my life.

One of the favorite titles Sherri had was “Aunt Sherri”. Sherri was on her Mission in Texas when I was pregnant with the Man-Child. She was so happy that she was home before she became Aunt Sherri.

As huge as I was I may have been a little sad that Aunt Sherri made it home before the Man-Child made his entrance into the world.

LaLa and Aunt Sherri had a pretty close relationship and LaLa has had a rough time this last week.

At some point on Saturday morning LaLa realized that Aunt Sherri wouldn’t want her to be sad and she was lucky that she had someone like Aunt Sherri in her life. I have been amazed at how a little attitude adjustment has made such a huge difference in how LaLa is now dealing with Aunt Sherri passing.

Her funeral was Saturday morning and Big Daddy and his siblings spoke and did the most amazing job paying tribute to Sherri. Her funeral was the perfect mix of spiritual and humor with a certain amount of sadness mixed in. (And if you ever want to learn about the Plan of Salvation just ask Big Daddy. He gave a remarkable lesson to everyone there.)

She will certainly be missed by so many people…especially her family.

we put the fun in funeral

My Mom was a pretty amazing lady.

There wasn’t anything she couldn’t do…it’s almost annoying how good she was at everything. I really mean EVERYTHING!!!

She taught her family so much, but most importantly she taught us that life was to be enjoyed.

This week is a tough week for me as we celebrate her birthday and also the anniversary of her passing away. I try to remember that she wouldn't want me to be sad. She would want me to remember that life is to be enjoyed and I shouldn’t grumpy with my own kids because I am missing my Mom. That seems a pretty easy thing to remember.

I should be celebrating the good…and I should be happy.

I was smiling and being goofy while we were getting ready for her funeral…but I am ashamed to admit that my siblings and I spent the time dealing with our grief by watching Pauly Shore movies. Don’t judge.

I felt bad for my poor nephew that was angry that people were laughing and enjoying themselves at her viewing. It was a sad time, but she was a fun person who surrounded herself with people that laughed and enjoyed life. There was going to be laughter and good memories shared there. Not to say there weren’t tears, but thankfully the tears were tempered with laughter and smiles.

I am glad that my sister Niece and I had learned the lesson that it was better to smile than to cry.

And more importantly my Mom had taught us that being together and a Pepsi would make even the worse day more bearable.

I miss you Mom and I had no idea that 19 years after you passed away I would still be missing you like it was yesterday!

A Lasting Legacy

I have sat down to write this post a few times in the last couple of days and every time I couldn’t put into words how I felt about David’s Grandpa.

I never had a Grandpa in my life until I met Big Daddy. I think I may have fallen in love with his Grandma and Grandpa about a half a second before I fell in love with Big Daddy. They were the most incredible couple. From the first time I met them I felt part of their family and loved by them. During this last weekend I saw so many pictures of them as a young couple that I haven’t seen before. They were a very attractive couple. And there was just something about them that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. And then I realized what it was…they were Sassy.

As they got older Grandma required constant care because of her arthritis and Grandpa was there for her. The amount of service he gave her is mind boggling, but his face always showed how much he truly loved her. It was heartbreaking when she passed away and he was left alone. He has trudged on the last few years, but you could tell he longed to be with his beloved wife. My favorite thing will always be that he had a great sense of humor and he had passed that on to his family.

On Sunday as his family gathered together for his viewing. There was an amazing group of his children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The room was filled with love and laughter. A true tribute to the type of man he was.

On Monday morning we gathered at the church for a family prayer before the funeral. The room was so crowded, but I didn’t feel uncomfortable. Instead I felt a family together embracing each other. When we went into the chapel for the actual funeral I realized that there were so many of us that they had blocked the chapel for family and we almost filled the whole thing. It was a lovely service. I loved hearing his life story. I had heard most of the stories before, but there were a few new things I learned about Grandpa.

After the funeral at the Church we went to the cemetery.

The oldest grandsons from each family were the casket bearers.

Since Grandpa was a World War II veteran he had a military honor guard there for him.

Here is the Chaos at the cemetery.

Big Daddy’s Mom is the youngest of her family. Here is her legacy of 4 children and 11 grandchildren.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/video/video.php?v=1257278907991&ref=mf

This is a link to a video on facebook that one of the grandchildren put together. It is 20 minutes long, but lovely.