Saturday, May 14, 2011

Kids...

....They sure do have a way of making a very sad time, seem like a happy time.

But first I want to thank all of you who left such nice comments and for your prayers for our family. We could feel the love and appreciated all the sweet words.

I wasn't sure how the kids would do during my dad's funeral. Should I bring them? I asked myself. What if they start to act up? We talked a lot about being very quiet and respectful during Granddaddy's funeral. I really wanted my girls to go because I felt it was important for them to have some type of closure. We also had them attend my dad's military memorial because again, I wanted them to have the closure and felt it was important for them to watch the 21 gun salute and to somehow be proud of their granddaddy.

But before all of the services, we had mother's day to celebrate and it was such a peaceful and fun mother's day. We went to the local berry farm and picked strawberries, fed goats and the moms received free ice cream sundaes...it's a big deal in my mom's small town to come here for mother's day.

Bennett knows how to pose for the camera!

Loving on the ones that made me a mommy.

As far as the funeral went, I couldn't have been more proud of my kids and my sister's boys. Dad would have been proud too. They sat almost completely silent while the pastor as well as many others talked about my dad. During the military salute they sat in awe of the soldiers and watched them march and carefully fold the American flag that covered my dad's casket. When the loud guns went off, Bennett gave his pouty lip {naturally} and Harper of course asked "why did they shoot those guns?". The weather couldn't have been more perfect and everything about all of the services was beautiful. I'm so glad my kids were there to see it all.

Now, I will add that later, as we were saying good bye to those that came, a friend of my parents asked who our kids were and as I pointed and said "and this is my other daughter Harper", she had her dress pulled up to her arm pits, showing everyone that may have been looking, her underwear! She was hot and what else do you do when you're 4 and you need to get some air? It wasn't too funny when I saw it but thinking back now, I know my dad would have just laughed.

After things calmed down and all of the ceremonies were done, the kids found ways to keep themselves busy...
They made up their own band-Harper was the drummer and Ainsley played the guitar.We went to the beach and let the girls release some energy after behaving so nicely for two days. They didn't have bathing suits but we let them get wet and sandy anyway.

Bennett enjoyed playing with the shovels and buckets

and walking with my mom {Grammy} down the beach.

He became very tired and started signing "night-night" here. This is actually the sign for "bed" but I taught him to use it for "night-night" or "tired" because I think it's cute;)

Btw, my new fashion accessory is a fedora. I love them and can't get enough of them! I currently have 3 of them.

Bennett has an unusual way of getting around now....
I guess you could call it the bear crawl and he's quite efficient at it.


Yep, this face turned a lot of sad faces into happy ones. My dad just loved to see Bennett smile really big. He was so proud of him and I so wished he would have been able to watch Bennett grow and hit huge milestones. But even though he won't see Bennett do those things here, he will still be watching him and cheering him right along up in heaven.

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16 comments:

  1. Glad the services were good (as far as funeral's go, huh). Love that picture of Bennett between the legs :)

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  2. Bennett is priceless in these pictures. Glad things went ok. I am sure it was so very difficult for you to say goodbye.

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  3. Aww I'm so sad for you guys. My grandfather had the military service too, and it is so bittersweet ... so proud and so emotional. Let me know when you guys are down here again this summer ... would love to meet up with you!

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  4. Closure is good. Everyone needs that. Cool crawl...one of my daughters didn't even crawl, she just scooted her butt around with one leg. It was funny. Btw, is he holding a Zooble in that one pic? We have lots of those rolling around our house.

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  5. Oh know, I am so sorry. I came across your blog and love to read about your beautiful family. I can feel the love that you have for your dad through your words.

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  6. I'm glad things went okay with the service. I know it can be very sad, but it sounds as if it was peaceful too. You are a strong person. Happy late Mother's Day.

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  7. Bear crawl or Army crawl, get used to it! It's easier for some of our flexible guys like my Benji to lock rather than bend their knees. Benji did that crawl most of the time. But crawled eventually a little and walks!

    Sorry for your family's loss, we hope you find peace and comfort where you can. Continue to draw strength from each other and your long memories.

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  8. I didn't get through that post without shedding a bunch of tears....you have such a beautiful way of expressing the feelings felt that day. I LOVE the picture of Bennett making the "night night" sign. So sweet. Thank God for kids, they sure make our lives easier when things are hard (and of course sometimes they do the opposite!) Praying for you guys.

    Jennifer

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  9. Glad the services went well and the kids were good. They seem to know when it really matters. Your family is still in my prayers as you try to get things back to "normal"

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  10. Glad your beautiful kids gave you comfort...and I hope your family continues to heal.

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  11. isnt it funny how kids can make things just a little more bearable? William used to the bear crawl too before he began walking such a cute stage

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  12. Thank you for the update and the beautiful pics! So glad the weather was nice for the service and the kids behaved. You did the right thing by having them there! I appreciated the pic of your mom. It reminded me to pray for her, too.

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  13. Sorry for your family's loss!!

    Your children are so adorable!!

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  14. You are so right about kids making sad moments into happy ones.I just found your blog while searching for blogs about DS. I recently gave birth to my beautiful son who has Down Syndrome and he makes me so happy already! Your photos are wonderful!

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  15. have been thinking about your family...and love that last pic of bennett!

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  16. Love the pics- Luke used to crawl like that- and can he go fast! We call it the spiderman ;) Bennett's going to be a real heartbreaker with those eyes.

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