Nana's Funeral and a BIG Surprise

Friday we made the 3 hour car trip to Springfield, Missouri for Nana Berbert's (Jeff's grandma) funeral. Jeff had to work the night before, from 9:00 pm to 7:00 am. So we couldn't leave until he got home and got changed, and the funeral started at 10:30. Needless to say we didn't make it on time to catch more than the last few minutes of the church service. But we did get to hear the closing prayer and see the casket taken out to the hearse. Family and friends poured out of the chapel with tears in their eyes. But none were of real sadness. Most people were smiling through their tears after a celebration of a great woman's life. The cousins all sang, minus our kids, and we heard they did a wonderful job.
After the service all the family gathered in the cultural hall for a lunch prepared by the Relief Society. Those who really know me how I feel about the Relief Society - I LOVE it. I've loved it ever since the very first sunday I got to go. I left Young Women's and never felt sad for a minute. I was embraced by the amazing women in the Potomac South Ward RS and treated like a treasure. Seriously, I had a great welcoming into the organization and to this day I am sad when a sunday goes by and I don't get to go.
Back to the lunch. It's always nice to get to see extended family and we were thilled to see Karen & TJ, Aimee & Dale with their kids Arwen and Emmett, Granddad, Ken, Chad, Alan and Todd & Becky with their kids Anna, Laura, and Emily.
After we ate we all headed to the cemetary for the dedication of Nana's grave. Because Nana and Granddad are WWII vets the cemetary was a beautiful new Military cemetary. But because it's so new they are still clearing for plots, meaning we weren't actually able to go out to where Nana's plot is. Instead we gathered in a small shelter and Ken gave the prayer. It was short, very sweet and we could feel the spirit strongly. Jeff, Rome and I went up to Nana's casket to say a final goodbye. Capri was nervous so she said goodbye a few feet away.
We drove from the cemetary to Granddad's house where everybody gathered to visit, and let the cousins play. The picture below isn't from the funeral but it does show all the cute cousins. I sure wish that my kids had some on my side. HINT, HINT to my brothers.

After about an hour, Karen (Jeff's youngest sister) got up to make an announcement. The first thing she said was "It's not a baby, we're not pregnant." A few minutes later she said, "And it IS a baby, we ARE pregnant!" It was quite a surprise!
Later some of us went with Granddad to Heritage Cafe and listened to Ken tell stories about his mission in Germany and Granddad about his experiences in WWII. I got to be the Aunt of the the hour after playing 20 questions with the kids (mine, Arwen, and Emmett), and then buying them all 10 cent tootsie roll pops. There is nothing like buying a child's love for a grand total of 40 cents. My goal is to become the FAVORITE Aunt so watch out Aimee, Karen, Regina, and Katie!
Our drive home was uneventful (I didn't fall asleep at the wheel while Jeff was passed out after being awake for about 29 hours with maybe 1 broken hour of sleep). Our kids were SO good in the car (like usual), Sable slept almost the entire ride home and Rome and Capri are always pretty content when we drive. Just give them some good tunes and they are happy.
It was a good day, and just another reminder that as one life ends another begins. Congrats Karen and TJ - we love you! We'll give you our standard piece of baby advice, "Don't listen to any baby advice. Listen to your own instincts and you'll be fine."