November 19, 2011

November 19th was kind of a heavy day.  Not a bad one, per se, but not the easiest day of my life.  It started out beautifully.  I woke up, got dressed, and headed to the Jordan River temple to see one of my dearest friends get Eternally sealed to the love of her life.  It was beautiful.  I cried.  I am so grateful that she invited me to be a part of that momentous occasion.

After the sealing I headed out to a chapel in Cedar Heights to attend the funeral of Inndia, Alex, and Ashton Powell.  It was an interesting experience.  There was a lot of comfort given, especially in seeing how strong Anthony and Thomas were taking their tragic situation.  It was also rather sad to see how devastated many of the family members were.

It showed an interesting dichotomy of how different those who have the truth of the gospel react to death.  It is sad, but not permanent, and therefore not as heavy of a blow.  Many of the people there were certain their glimpse of those three special people in their shared coffin would be the last they ever saw of them.  My heart broke for them. I still pray for them.  I can't even imagine how devastated they felt.

After the funeral I stayed to help with the luncheon, which ended up lasting much longer than I had anticipated.  When everything was all cleaned up, I had just enough time to head home, grab my family, and head over to Emily's reception.  This was a wonderful way to end my day.  It was gorgeous.  Emily was gorgeous.  Seeing her together with her new Husband was incredible.  I am so happy for them.

The kids enjoyed the night as well.  There was a photo booth, chocolate covered strawberries, mini cupcakes, amazing lemonades (seriously, it was soooo yummy!), and their favorite Emily looking prettier than any princess around.  It was beautiful. 

Here are some pictures.

v

e

After the reception, Ross took me to Chilis to get the burger I had been craving all day and to let me release some of the stress and angst and excitement of the day.  It is silly and cheesy to say, but I had really missed him that day, and even though we were there with all the kids telling me all about what they had done while I was gone, it was nice to be there snuggled with him. 

Plus the burger was amazing.

I love you Emily!  Thank you so much for letting me be a part of your very special day!