The Funeral - May 26, 2012

Just three long days after Owen was born we all hopped on a plane back to Idaho for his funeral. And after 6 hours of driving, 3 airports and 2 different airplanes we were back home and surrounded by lots of family. The whole week was a huge whirlwind but it was nice to be around so much family, I just wish it hadn't gone by so fast. It seemed like there was just so much to do for the funeral, with getting a plot, contacting the funeral home in Idaho, and contacting the cemetery, and the bishop of our last ward and picking out a headstone that it seemed stressful at times. However, even with everything that needed to be done, we were so blessed with amazing people that helped get everything in order for us. Chris' grandparents had a stillborn baby too and were only using half of the plot that they bought for him so his grandpa generously donated the other half of their plot to Owen. We are so thankful to him for that and are so happy for Owen to be buried next to family. Chris' office manager helped us so much also with booking our flights, reserving the church just in case it rained, and opening their house up for a luncheon and we are so grateful for her and everything she did for us.

Owen's funeral was on Saturday, May 26 in Menan, Idaho. We had planned on just doing a graveside service, however since it was raining and cold we moved it to the church. It was a beautiful service and we were so blessed having most of our family there. My dad, step-mom and sister drove up from Arizona, my mom flew in from Washington and my aunts and uncles and grandparents, chris' parent's, most of his siblings, grandparents, aunt and one of our really good friends all were there with us. After the service we drove over to Little Annis Cemetery to dedicate the grave. When we were ready to leave the cemetery we all headed up to the luncheon. We weren't even planning to have a luncheon because it was just one more thing we would have to take care of; however, the relief society of our last ward offered to put it together for us, which was amazing because we were only in that ward for a few months and had only gotten to know a few people.

Even though this day was probably one of the hardest days, I felt such a great sense of peace knowing that this wasn't really goodbye and that we would see him again someday. I am so grateful for the plan of salvation and that we will have the chance to raise him in the next life. I really think that this knowledge has helped me deal with all of this and made it just a little bit easier.

Owen's casket is called a Daisy so I wanted to have daisies for the flowers and now whenever we see a daisy we will remember him. Chris' aunt did the flowers for us and they were beautiful.