Friday in Pinehurst

Friday is the day the family was complete.

Lisa and Kari were both driving and arrived that afternoon.

The family that was there started early {ish} and headed over to Pinehurst.

The goal for the day was to sort thru Grandma Dorothy's house and get it ready for an estate sale.

And holy cannoli, I was in heaven.

Why, for the love, do I like going thru people's things so much? It's why I love thrift stores, garaging and dumpster diving so much! 

Grandma's house held so many special memories for the family. Throughout the day, we heard "remember this" or "Grandma would say...." it was a fabulous day, filled with warm hearts and crying eyes. Her spirit was still in that house. I'm so grateful the family was able to go through everything and take a piece of memory here and there home with them.

I think I was so HAPPY to be sorting and tossing and keeping because I never got the chance to go through my own Grandparents homes. Something I wish I would have gotten the opportunity to do. Sorting thru memories, being able to walk down memory lane for an afternoon or two. Being able to take home something of theirs to put in my home....I'm so sad to have missed that chance!

Sometimes things ARE just things....but not when it comes to memories. Those THINGS are our past in one way or another.

Anyways...I think we did a really good job cleaning out Grandma Dorothy's house. I wish we would have had a Uhaul! So much cool stuff.  

They say that the best way to have a little Heaven in your home is to have someone you love in Heaven.

We miss you so much, PopPop!

It's hard to believe that it's already been a year...time has flown by!

It's hard to accept that you are gone....that I can't call and say hi, hearing you exclaim "Oh Sarah-bear", a little bit of excitement in your voice.

A year is such a long time, isn't it?? Yet there's still a hole where you should be....and why is that, I ask myself that question a lot? I think maybe because you were taken from us so suddenly, with no good-bye's.

I'm so grateful you are in Heaven, watching over us....busying yourself with missionary work, teaching those who want to learn the truth.

 Thank you for your example of loving kindness....a trait that was passed from you to me through my mother. I hope to always strive to be like you in that way. To forgive, to love, to be HAPPY....because I know that is what you would want.

Happy Birthday Pop Pop!

We miss you!

I loved that I could take the opportunity to talk to my girls about their great grandpa today. Not that he doesn't come up from time to time...but we were able to go thru pictures and talk about them, then I had them pick out their favorites!

This one is Aube's (isn't it just a chubby Jax?? lol).

She says she remembers PopPop...and his doggies.

This is Bella's favorite.

She said "Did PopPop pick a flower and put it my hair??" lol.
Nope, but that's a good idea!
I have a {very neglected} rose bush in my backyard and everytime I see it I think of my grandparents.

It's amazing the impact a person makes on your life. I had fantastic grandparents on both my mom's side AND my dad's side. But I wasn't privileged enough to live in the same city as PopPop and Grams...we visited as much as time and money would allow. But just the same, some of my best memories have them in it! I'm so thankful for that!

The picture below is what I had planned to have done by PopPop's birthday...was journals for each of my family members...{wouldn't that have been cool to get a journal in the mail today, with PopPop's picture right on front?? sorry.... :(}

One of my favorite {written down} quotes from PopPop is:"Keep a journal, start in your youth and don't procrastinate. I started recording my history and life events when I was in my 80th year. It has been difficult to remember important dates and events that happened in my early life. I strongly encourage everyone to start recording their history NOW!
Please don't procrastinate! We should all have started in our youth; please start now if you haven't started yet. And if you have started, good! And keep it up!"
{I wish I would have written down/taped everything he said!}

The picture shows just how far I've gotten with my journal "project"...just like most projects of mine lately!  It's all there! It just needs to be cut out and put together!

Urgh! But  hey, they will make great Christmas presents, right?!

Anyways...I hope my family members will take a minute today to remember Grampa Jones...I know he's probably on your minds constantly, so I know that is a needless reminder! And I hope those of you who aren't family will take a minute to call your own grandparents, or write them an email or letter...send them a picture, something! One day the ones we love are here, and the next they are gone. Life is too short, thank goodness for eternity!

Just because....

I thought of him a lot today....triggered by the smell of a bush. Odd, yes. But there is this bush outside of a store I frequent, and every time I walk by it, the smell reminds me of my PopPop and Gram's back patio. Swimming in the pool...bbq's....family get togethers....the pumpkin carving contest.

I borrowed this pic from my mom's blog post.
I love it because I remember that cute, squishy little Bella....with her hand on PopPop's knee, asking him about all the different kinds of fish. And it reminded me of how awesome he treated those great-grandkiddos...getting down on their level, taking the time to listen to their questions and get excited about small things such as fish. Ü

Have you called your grandma or grandpa or great-grandparents or mom or dad....anyone that you haven't spoken to in awhile but KNOW you should take a moment and call today? I think you should.
Just because....

We shall call this post: Grammy and her babies...

One thing I would love to have is a camera that takes several frames of pictures at one time. So you get a TON of goofy pictures of a person doing one action. You know...like a dog catching a frisbee or Bella picking her nose.
But instead...we just take the same picture over and over again...but it yields the same result. Lots of goofy pictures! Well...cute goofy. Not goofy, goofy.
Everyone get's settled....what a CUTE picture this will make...famous last words....

5 kids vs 1 Grammy...the odds don't look good!

We'll just have to call this one: "Why is everyone looking at the camera and smiling but BELLA?" But in her defense, she is getting slightly mauled by Rylee, who just can't get enough of her Bella.

This one documents Bella's classic "cheese" face. You can totally see her saying, can't you? And Kaleb's slightly confused "Why is my mommy over there, not holding me?" face. Which was seen quite frequently thru out the weekend ;).

Grammy thinks to herself "Im soooo stealing all these babies, surely the airline will let me on the plane with them all in my carry-on." The kids are clueless....laughing at Uncle Josh.

And this one: "Kaleb wonders why the heck they have to take so many pictures (and WHY did they take my binky??) and Bella sympathizes 'just go with the flow, dude'". And don't think we don't see you Rylee, sticking out your tongue, sweetcheeks.

Last but not least: The infamous "2 camera" photo. Grammy is looking at her camera and the kiddos are looking at Aunt Saha. Mwhahahhaha...my evil plan worked! Kaleb and Bella smile!! But not at the right camera!

So there you have it...lots of goofy, tons of cute...and a wish for photoshop to switch out some faces!

And yes, I made the girls all Valentines day shirts...of course, I procrastinated it (who moi?!), so they didnt get to wear them till Monday...and did I get a picture of them together in their shirts...umm no, cause that would have been cute and SMART. Ü

So, I'll start with the Funeral...

I'm working a little backwards here in the timeline...AND...oh my...AND...I only took THREE PICTURES during this trip. Shocker...I was completely baffled when I looked at my camera and it makes me so sad! Actually, I did take a ton of pictures...they just happen to be on my dad's camera (he's got a sweet camera). So, I'm (im)patiently waiting to get copies of those. Ü

I flew out at 6am on Friday morning and arrived in Las Vegas in time for breakfast! The flight went well...my boy kicked me the ENTIRE flight...I couldn't decide if he liked to fly, or if he was ticked. But it was a crowded flight, it always amazes me how many people go to Vegas....and you can just feel their excited vibe, it's pretty cool. Friday just consisted of spending time with Grams and dusting her house a bit, running errands, hugging my mom, and just helping get things ready.
Saturday was the funeral...we had most of the day to prepare, with the viewing at 3pm and the funeral at 5pm. One thing I loved helping prepare was the the pictures of PopPop...seeing his life and the love he felt for us all was such a wonderful thing! It helped seeing those pictures. The mortuary people did such a wonderful job on him, he looked so peaceful with a hint of a smile. They did such a good job in fact, that it almost felt like he would sit up and say "How's my Sarah-bear doing?"
I was reminded at how much PopPop had a sense of humor. He had left instructions as to what was to be done at his funeral....such as it wasn't to be longer than an hour, more than half should be singing and no long tributes "If they knew me, then knew my accomplishments, and if they didn't know me, they'd just be bored." But I think we all did a good job remembering him and sticking to his wishes. What a wonderful man! Everyone who came had their own story about Brother Jones...

And we, as his family, are his legacy. He taught his children to love and to be faithful, intelligent people....and because of his wonderful example to them, his grandchildren are filled with integrity and that love that was passed on.

We all stayed one more night in Vegas. Then headed up to Springville, Utah for the burial.

I had to snap one picture on our way out of town of NewYork NewYork where I used to work at the spa...can't say I miss it, but I'm always amazed at what work is put into these hotels to make them one of a  kind.

We lucky enough to be able to stay all together in a hotel close to the gravesite. It was so nice to take the little time we had and spend it together as a family.

The grave dedication was short and sweet (thank goodness, since it was freezing cold outside). My sisters and I sang the song "Each life that touches ours for good." Then the grave was blessed.

This is Laura's baby, Carl...totally won us all over with his little jibberjabber.

It was a wonderful weekend, despite the circumstances. Being able to pay tribute to PopPop....part of that being the time we spent together as a family, remembering and laughing. He would have loved that!

Families are Forever.

I write this blog for many reasons, but I would have to say my #1 reason is to keep family updated on the goings-on of our little Texas family. I try to keep it upbeat and fun, to keep most of the posts clogged with pictures of my girls and our day-to-day. I do this because I know my family reads and I know they feel closer to us because of it...I don't complain, filling cyberspace with woe-is-me, I don't go on blog breaks...because I knew HE was reading, HE was watching, HE was loving every minute. Who is he? He is my PopPop and yesterday Heavenly Father took him back Home.

It would be an understatement to say that the last couple of days have been hard for my family. On Monday night, we were eating dinner at Chili's with James' family and I got a call from my mom saying that Grampa was in the hospital and it didn't look good. At that moment I have never prayed harder for time travel, I've never prayed harder for the hands of time to turn back and for us to still be living in Las Vegas. All I wanted to do is be holding my mom's hand as she drove to the hospital where her father had been admitted. We waited all day Tuesday for news...GOOD news, hoping for recovery, but none came and then I received a call from my dad letting me know that Grampa was gone.

I had a hard time 4 months ago when my Grandma Sargent passed...but I knew in my heart that she was happy and in the arms of her husband up there in paradise. But PopPop's passing isn't feeling quite right in my heart, I know he wouldn't want me to feel that way...but it just feels like it was too soon! I'm sounding a bit selfish, I just can't help that, tho...he's played a big part in my life and I wish I could get one more big hug from him, or maybe a dozen.

What can a person even say?

I've been trying to think of a few things that come to mind when I think of Merlin Jones. He:
*is a hardworker, and passed that trait onto all his children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
*is an avid reader. I've got a whole shelf full of Louis L'Amour books he passed down to me, I can't wait to get started reading them again.
*loved his children. Loved his grand children. And loved his great-grandchildren. To him we were ALL a blessing, and he made us feel loved, each one of us KNEW PopPop loved us.
*is supportive. My sisters and I grew up 3 states away, but even from across those miles, we knew PopPop supported our efforts in sports, band, academics. We received letters and phone calls telling us as much.
*was James' mentor. When we first were married, James and PopPop would sit and have long conversations. He was the one who steered James in the direction of accounting, a profession that keeps our family stable and living comfortably. I'm so grateful to him for those conversations.
*always listened to us. And because of that, when you were with PopPop you always felt special. Even if you weren't his family...thats the one thing I've heard consistently over the past few days...that anyone who was around him felt special.
*especially loved his sweetheart. I know he's up there watching her, making sure she is being taken care of.

I came across this scripture today:
And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow.
Alma 40:12
Thank goodness for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, wherein we know that we will all be together again someday. That those that we ache for and love so much are waiting in paradise, resting until we join them. No cares, no sorrows...serving a mission in Heaven for our Heavenly Father. What a blessing this knowledge is.

In talking with my mom today, she made a very wonderful point, one that makes me smile, even thru all the sadness. PopPop is up there with my little Merlin, getting him ready to come down and join our family. Isn't that a vision? The two of them walking hand in hand, a little boy learning so much from such a wise, loving man.

We love you PopPop.

Back to our regular scheduled blogging...

My mom flew in last week to help me out during my recovery for my wisdom teeth extraction. I am SO glad she was able to come out and spend time with us. My teeth ended up being a breeze, but having her here was a comfort nonetheless. She left today and the house just feels so empty!!

Thursday I made plans for us to do something fun before the dreaded teeth pulling! We drove over to Ft Worth and spent the day at the Botanical Gardens. I knew how much my mom loves the outdoors and flowers and all that jazz...so that was the perfect place to go. We FINALLY got there after being stuck for an hour in traffic (so ridiculous, and we never even knew what had happened!) and had a nice picnic lunch.

We walked around the grounds, the girls LOVE it there...especially the water parts and the turtles. It's such a beautiful place and the weather was absolutely perfect. And being able to walk and talk with my momma while the girls ran amuck, was just bliss.

It's that time of year again! And the leaves are quickly changing and falling...the girls had a blast playing in them.

It was a perfect way to start off our mini-vacation with Gramma. We topped the night off with steak at Texas Roadhouse! Yum.
We miss her SO much already and it's only been a few hours!

More to come...

Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family. ~Anthony Brandt

This past weekend, we had the opportunity to attend the funeral of my Grandmother Sargent. It was a great weekend, spent with family....remembering Grandma, so many memories!! All of my siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins (minus one, missed you Liv) were there. It was a sight to see!
Saturday morning, we had the viewing. It was nice to see all those who cared for Grandma Edna, Mother Edna, Aunt Edna, Friend Edna...stop by to give their condolences.

Jen's oldest, Cayden...he's such a cutie and loves his Grampa so much.
After the viewing, my immediate family headed over to Dexter BBQ and had a yummy lunch.

The funeral was Saturday afternoon, so we quickly headed to the church after lunch. The service was just wonderful...my grandparents have left behind this legacy that is absolutely amazing. Everyone who had a part in the funeral did a great job....I especially loved the Eulogy given by my Father.
About halfway thru the program, the grandchildren and great-grandchildren came up to the front and sang "I am a Child of God." We all got up there and half the seats were empty! lol. There's something like 24 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren (and like I said before, we were ALL there...minus one). I'm so glad they chose that song to sing, too....it is a very important song..."I am a child of God, and He has sent me here, Has given me an earthly home, with parents kind and dear.....I am a child of God, Rich blessings are in store; If I but learn to do his will, I'll live with him once more....Lead me, Guide me, Walk beside me, Help me find the way...Teach me all that I must do, To live with Him someday." I don't think there is one person in our family that couldn't relate those words to Grandma. She has led us and guided us and walked beside us all through out our lives...her life has been such an example of love and service.

After the funeral services, we drove up to the cemetery in Morley, Mo to dedicate the grave. She's buried next to my Grandfather under a huge pine tree.

The girls love to roam around, looking at all the different flowers on all the graves.

Laura's baby, Carl. Such a cutie with all that hair! They drove all the way from Idaho to be there! It was so nice to see her and play with that cute kid!

Everyone was invited to take flowers from the big bouquet's surrounding the casket. Bella loved her rose....and eventually gave it to my mom.

My momma and I. I can't wait to see her in 2 weeks. She and dad made it possible for James and I to come out for the funeral, and I hope she knows how much I appreciate her for that!

The day started a bit dreary...but as we were standing around the gravesite, the clouds parted and the sun shone thru.

After the gravesite service, the Church members from the Sikeston ward fed the family a wonderful meal. We left a bit earlier than everyone else because we wanted to get changed and head to Lamberts for a 2nd meal. As we walked out of the church....there was a beautiful rainbow stretching across the sky.

Lamberts was good...I ate too much, as always. After we got settled back into our hotel room, Laura and Emily came over and chilled with us. Aube is addicted to this bubble breaker game on James' phone...I thought this picture was too cute.

Sunday morning, no one felt very good...so we took our time getting ready and met everyone over at Grandma's house.

The kiddos got to run and play (couldn't help have flashbacks of running wild and climbing trees as a child). And we adults got to roam around the house....remembering.

Since we were all together as an immediate family (minus Joseph) we took the opportunity to take pictures.

The Siblings (it was a little bright, lol). It was great to be surrounded by my sisters again, even if it was for just a short while.

It's about a 9 hour drive...so we had to head out a little earlier than I would have liked.....early as in an hour later than planned. And being Aube's birthday we had to take some extra time to stop and eat somewhere to celebrate. We (as in I) chose Colton's Steakhouse. Very fitting....since Grandma Sargent's maiden name is Colton. We had yummy steaks and they sang to Aube and brought her an ice cream sundae (she refused to eat it, of course....but much better than Bella's fiasco birthday dinner).

It was a great trip....it was a sad occasion...but it was hard to be sad surrounded by family and memories. I'm grateful for my Grandma and the love she had for each of us. I'm thankful we were able to go and pay tribute to such a great woman! May she have her rest in Heaven surrounded by her husband, sisters, parents and friends who have passed before.

To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there. ~Barbara Bush
When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses. ~Joyce Brothers
Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts. ~Author Unknown