remembering...

I know it has been a few days since I have posted... there have been a couple reasons for that, one being that it has just been a few hectic days & the other... is why I have titled this post "remembering". Last Wednesday night when we were coming home from church my cell phone rang, which is very odd at that time of the evening... my family knows we are in church & they just don't call... it was my mom & the first thing she said is, "we have bad news." How many of you have heard those words & wonder what was to follow... 20million things go through your mind all at once. It was my Uncle Joel in California, he is my dad's oldest brother, he suddenly passed away that afternoon. He was in his 70's, which I am realizing as time goes by that is far from old. He has had many health problems in the last few years, but he has been pretty consistent in the way his health was... they figure he had a heart attack & was gone.


















Now for the remembering part... last April my mom & dad & Luke & I went to CA to visit family. We were able to spend a few days with my Uncle Joel & Aunt Pat, which we had done in 2003 & 2005 also. Because they lived so far from us I never really had the chance to get to know them as I was growing up. Well, in the past 5 1/2 years I did get to know them better & I am so thankful for that. I am also thankful my hubby got to know them & that we both truly learned to love them... they weren't just "relatives that live in CA." I am thankful that we got to know each other & that I was able to experience that in my "grown up" life. I know this may not make sense to some of you, but it does make perfect sense in my brain! *Ü*

In this pic, my uncle is seated with my dad behind him & of course me... this is a priceless picture and today it is why I have a grateFUL heart, carin