Lots to catch up on...

I'll start with Chad's grandmothers funeral. His grandma on his mother's side, Paloma Clawson, dies on March 11, 2009 at the age of 88. She has a severe case of Alzheimer's and really didn't know who too many people were anymore. She was living in a care center away from her husband of 70 years when she died. Although we are all sad to see her go, we know that she no longer has any pain or misery and she is definitely in a better place. We left on Friday the 13th to drive to Idaho for her viewing and funeral. Friday was the viewing and it was really good. Grandma Clawson looked radiant and peaceful. I know many people don't like to go to viewing and normally I don't either but it was hard to deny how good she looked. The whole Clawson family was there, minus a few, but most made it. I was really impressed at the family's dedication to their sister, wife, mother and grandmother.
The funeral was the next day and was also very well prepared. They had a family prayer before it started and then continued with the actual funeral. Two of Grandma Clawson's son-in-laws and one of her sons spoke. They all gave very good talks and you could definitely feel the spirit there.
That night much of the family stayed at the church and visited together. Although we were there for a funeral, it was still nice to see so much family and have a good time together. I think everyone cried a lot, but laughed just as much.
I am a strong believer, that while it is a good thing to mourn for those we have lost, it is also a good thing to laugh about the good memories you had of them. Overall it was a really good weekend and we were happy to be able to see Chad's family, especially his parents and siblings.
We also got to meet Emily's fiance Bobby for the first time. We can definitely say that he was welcomed into the family with open arms. I give him a lot of credit for meeting all of the family at once. I did the same thing and it is a little intimidating, but he handled it well. We are really looking foreword to going to their wedding in a month.

Here are a few pictures I snapped as we were all hanging out after the funeral.


From left to right: Katie(sister), Brittney(cousin), Lorna(cousin), Emily(sister), Taylor(cousin), Michelle(Mom), and Jill(sister).


From left to right: Hans(cousin), Andrew(cousin), Johnny(cousin), Chad, Bobby(soon to be brother-in-law), Eric and Maddy(cousin and 2nd cousin?).