Bits of Your Heart

Last week one of our best friends Logan had to say goodbye to his mom too quick and too soon after a 7 month battle with cancer. Our hearts absolutely ache for the Barber family and Jaden and I talked about how we are way too young to be planning and attending funerals. I didn't know Camille too well but I thought a story Morgann sent me about her summed up the kind of person she is: "I remember going to Eagle Bay Elementary and (Camille) worked there, she would walk around the lunch room to make sure the kids were behaving. But she was the nicest lady. I have very distinct memories of her saying that she wanted to work at the school to be with her kids more. What an incredible woman. I didn't even know her or her boys well but she taught me a valuable lesson about time and family. She could have done anything but she spent her days walking the cafeteria to be closer to her kids. I will for sure be thinking about and praying for them." 

Camille was like another mom to Jaden and loved him like her own and I am so grateful for that. Her genuine love for people was a common theme at her memorial services. Each person that spoke talked about how she loved people fiercely. The comment that stood out to me the most was made by her sister who said, "I wouldn't say Camille wore her heart on her sleeve, it's more like she gave bits and pieces of it to everyone she met..." I thought that was such a sweet and poignant way to put it. It's times like that where you really look inward at your life and reevaluate priorities. I'll admit the day of the funeral I walked into the chapel feeling a ton of stress from work, but as we headed back to our car from the cemetery all I could think about was how none of that matters it is 100% all about our families and how we treat people with the kind of love and compassion that God so freely gives us. How grateful I am for that love and for examples like Camille who knew how to hand it out bit by bit to everyone around her. 

Peaches

• Perspective shift at Camille's funeral
• The boys and John gave beautiful tributes to her
• Dinner with my boys

• Making our first batch of Jaden's Grandpa Bob's famous Chex mix. The Richins usually make it at Christmas but I started making it around Thanksgiving when we were in PA and I think it's so good it (and easy to make) it should just be a year round staple

• Morgann and Elijah invited us to the Jazz game with us at a corner suite and it was honestly so boujee we don't want to go back to normal stadium seats. Too spoiled. We each got $30 dinner credit and so I got to eat a Cubby's steak salad and sweet potato fries on a countertop while watching the game with our best friends it was such a fun night. Also on the latest episode of Jaden's Big Bites it's safe to say he thoroughly enjoyed his J-Dawg 

• Seeing eggnog rolling out on store shelves and thinking of Tanner and Amanda while also getting excited for Christmas!

• Planning a favorite things party where each person brings three of one of their favorite things (under $10) and we do a name draw and each go home with three new fav things. Can't wait to do this with all my friends from high school
• Went to Taggerts Grill with the crew and had yummy salmon, pot roast and cheesecake

• Beautiful sunset 

• Been on a 1D kick lately and had to break out the socks. Especially after I realized it's almost the 12th anniversary of Up All Night, 11th anniversary of Take Me Home, 10th anniversary of Midnight Memories, 9th anniversary of FOUR, 8th anniversary of Made in the AM. All of their albums were released in November and I don't know if I fully appreciated until now how much of a gift that truly was. Forever waiting on a reunion tour

• Hosted Sunday dinner at our place: orange chicken, noodles, rice, salad and the fan favorite A Bountiful Kitchen's Tried and True Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Pits

• Camille's funeral was one of the saddest ones I've been to as you look at her husband John and her boys navigating life on this side of the veil without her. Even though we have the perspective on life after death that we do it doesn't make it easier to lose people you love 
• Feeling stressed about work I literally brought my mini waffle maker in my office with me to make breakfast while I worked

• The Grantham's ordered a rug and accidentally shipped it to us. UPS was supposed to come pick it up but they came while we were at the funeral and I missed pickup. So Bridge was kind enough to haul it in his truck down to the store and we returned it. Imagine my surprise when two days later the rug was back on our front porch. I thought for sure that I hauled it down there just for them to redeliver it to me but turns out the Grantham's ordered a second rug to Utah instead of Arizona. Definitely thought I was being haunted by rugs
• Grantham's left us a bunch of food in the freezer to use and I pulled out these almonds to add to chex mix and make some with cinnamon sugar only to find they expired in 2015... After smelling them and tasting one and an extensive Google search I decided to trash them. They expired before I graduated high school which was crazy to think about. They're also older than all of our nieces and nephews. 

• My grandma got in a fender bender coming out of a meeting. Luckily she's ok but she was so distraught that she got in a wreck because she had a cupcake on her front seat that was sliding and going to get everywhere so she leaned over and ended up hitting a parked car. We feel so blessed no one was hurt. I have a feeling cupcakes are going to be a sore subject for a while but eventually a family joke. Dad giving her a pep talk and telling her to rest up and not worry about what could have been. Words we could all do well to remember.