Things have been really hard since my last post. My uncle died unexpectedly last month. His funeral was really hard to attend, but I wanted to be there for my aunt, his wife and my two cousins. I now know how hard it is to lose a parent and my sisters and I made to trip to be there for them. It was at the same funeral home in Nashville where Mama was and it was just a hard couple of days. After the funeral, my sisters and I went to Mama's grave. The first time back for most of us. Her stone had just been placed and it was so unreal seeing that there. As I was walking up I couldn't help but cry. It was so sad to see the proof that she was gone. I live with it every minute of every day, but that made it real in a way that it hasn't been so far. To see her name on that stone just broke my heart. My sisters sat there and talked to her for a long time. It was a little therapeutic, I thought.
That weekend, my nephew Andrew was born. Andrew is my husband's brother's baby. It was so wonderful to travel to KY to see our precious new nephew. We were so excited to get to meet Andrew and hold him for the first time. We also got to play with his 2.5 year old sister Anika. It was just a really fun few days. Welcoming Andrew to our family, helped to diminish some of the sadness of the previous week. We love to get to see our nieces and nephews whenever we can, they just bring so much joy into our lives. We had lots of fun with Anika and were so excited to get to meet Andrew in his first few days.
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| Uncle Johnny meeting Andrew |
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| Aunt Trishie meeting Andrew |
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| Anika being a little crazy! :) |
While we were still in KY there was a horrible tornado that went through Tuscaloosa. My sister and her husband live there and I was so worried about them. One of my sisters had talked to Daphne since the tornado hit and she was ok, but we found out that night that one of her friends was missing. We were so saddened in the next few days to discover that her friend had lost his life in the tornado. There has just been so much sadness lately! Me and two of my sisters went down to Tuscaloosa a couple of days after the tornado to see Daphne and take her a few things that she needed. It was so nice to see for ourselves that she was ok and to give her and her husband HUGE hugs!
During this time of so much loss and sadness, I also realized what a happy time this is for so many. I was in my kitchen one day, crying because of the overwhelming sadness of losing so many loved ones unexpectedly. My mama, my uncle, and Daphne's friend. I was just so sad. But I noticed my Christmas cards still on my fridge. So many of those friends have welcomed or are welcoming new family members this year. I have a new niece AND a new nephew since my mama died. Our best friends welcomed a baby boy in March.
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| Meeting Baby Zachary just a few days after his birthday! |
Several of my best girlfriends are pregnant. There is so much life and goodness around. YES! There are sad sad days. My mother is forever gone from this world. But we have June, and Zachary and Andrew. So many more babies on the way. Their mama's are healthy and the babies seem to be too. Thank God for new life! I am so thankful that when things get unbearably sad, HE reminds me of his great blessings!
