Rest

My loving husband took the kids all day so that I could be alone. Being alone is a big treat for me. I have always savored solitude. These past weeks have been anything but solitary. My incredibly hospitable parents have opened up their home to us until we can move into the "Old House". Papa & Grandma's house is the coziest place on earth...but it's a very good thing that we all love one another. Imagine...4 adults, 3 kids, and 3 pets all living under a 1200 sq. ft. roof. It's cozy all right! We are making memories together that will always be treasured, but every once in a while a solitary soul like mine needs some room to breath again. So, today I ran over these familiar hills. Walked Lottie up to the Abbey. And meandered through one of my favorite stores in the world...Hi-School Pharmacy. I also visited the Valley View Cemetery and found that beautiful piece of earth over looking Evans Valley where Jon Hopkins rests just next to Jaxen & Chloe Bielemeier. I found some vibrant orange poppies and some Queens Anne's lace and placed the flowers on their graves. Then I cried. I cried because of all the grace I see in these three deaths and how these lives still live on. We will be moving into Jon's house in less than a month. He was our friend. He always hoped that we would be the family to buy his home when the time came, he even walked us though it almost 8 years ago. And, when the time came we did buy the old place, but, his precious wife, Cathy Hopkins, now needed a new home. Jaxen & Chloe gave her theirs. Just down the road from Papa & Gramma's live Jordan & Krystina Bielemeier with two of their four children, Jaxen & Chloe moved to heaven before they even opened their eyes to this world. Their mommy and daddy needed to move on, and in His perfect timing, Cathy was able to buy their home. So, in that mysterious way of the Lord, we all found a place to rest. And we are all so deeply connected and even comforted because of it.