Whirlwind trip

These were taken on the drive back home last friday.

I got a call late Sunday night informing me that my Aunt Anne had passed away.

My "Aunt Anne" was actually my great Aunt. Although in our family that doesn't make much difference. She was one of my Grandpa Wells' seven siblings. She's been very sick for a few years now, so her passing is truly a blessing. We drove home Thursday after Nathan's Lab to attend the funeral. It was a beautiful service filled with music & memories. It got me thinking of all of my Aunt Anne memories that include: The amazing swings she had in her back yard that we were always welcome to use. Wading in the ditch in front of her house. Making hula skirts from the long limbs from her weeping willow tree. Racing those limbs down the ditch or under the bridge on the river by Grandpa Wells' house. The owls that took residence in that tree that would drop skeletons of little creatures on her sidewalk when they were done eating. The fake fingernails she taught me to make out of the seeds inside the banana shaped pods that would fall from the tree in Grandpa's front yard.

Even with the Strong testimony that I have of forever families, I'm such a wreck at funerals...and this one was no different. We call it a Wells trait (the red puffy eyes...we're not at all delicate criers!) I had a headache for the greater part of the day from all the crying. One of the wonderful things about funerals for my family, however, is the opportunity to visit with far reaching family members that we might not have seen in a while. Nathan is continually amazed to find out who I'm related to. He always tells me that my family is fairly odd in the fact that I'm well acquainted with not only second but third & fourth cousins as well. He doesn't even know half of his first cousins last names. I feel very blessed to be a part of such a tight knit family. We're big, we're loud, we're very close...I love my family, and I'm glad I got to see so many of them this past week. That is definitely a blessing in the passing of a loved one.