Kiersten's Funeral

Wow! Today was tough. Nathan and I went to Kiersten's funeral this morning. Well, actually, I guess it started last night when I took Emilee to the viewing. Emi wanted to go give Sierra, Kiersten's little sister, a hug. Sierra and Emilee are friends and Emi said she was sad for Sierra and she wanted to give her a hug and she also colored some pictures for her and made her a little card that said 'I love you'. Emilee is such a sweetheart sometimes. At the viewing there was a video slideshow with pics of Kiersten and the family. It was so fun to watch and heartbreaking at the same time. At the end of the slideshow they had a family picture with 'Families Are Forever' written at the bottom of it. It brought me to tears. Before we go into my feelings I will continue with the story. The closer I got to seeing Graig and Shelli (Kiersten's parents) the closer my tears were to flowing over. I mean, what do you say to someone who has lost a child? No words can change what happened or make everything okay. Anyway, Sierra wasn't there for Emilee to see so she gave the pictures to Shelli and she said she would give them to Sierra. Emilee was sad that she didn't get to see Sierra but when I explained to her why I thought Sierra wasn't there she understood and was okay. The funeral today was beautiful. The Young Women of our ward and some of Kiersten's friends sang 'Walk Tall You're a Daughter of God'. It was probably one of the most beautiful musical numbers I have ever heard! And, yes, it made me cry. Nathan even said it made him cry. It was gorgeous. Graig, Shelli, and Jason (Kiersten's younger brother) all gave memories of Kiersten. I can't imagine the courage and strength they had to get up and do that. That had to be really hard for them. I can't imagine going to bed one night with everything going fine and then waking up the next morning and having your daughter not wake up. I can't stop thinking about Shelli, and how sorry I am for her. I am not upset about Kiersten necessarily, I know she is in a better place. What I can't get out of my mind is her parents. I guess it hits hard when something like this happens to someone you call a friend. I know the Gemar's have alot of family and friends praying for them and I am proud to say that me and my family are among the ones praying. I just hope all of the prayers offer some comfort to them. To end this post, just one thing I saw at the funeral that broke my heart to pieces. At some point Sierra and her sister, Rachel, got up to use the bathroom. When they came back in Sierra climbed into Shelli's lap and buried her head into Shelli's neck. It made me wonder what Emilee would do and what Emilee would be feeling if she were in Sierra's shoes. It also opened my eyes and made me realize that we need to hug our kids and tell them we love them every chance we get. We never know what will happen when we wake up in the morning.