Mourning

Malachi 3:10
Prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

Standing in my sister's kitchen, holding a pot of soup. There is not a place to put the soup. Every inch of the counter (and table and stove) is covered in love.

The same love we feel from an extended family who have cried with us and offered support. Love from our neighbors who show up with flowers (and much needed black eyeliner for the school Halloween parade).

Love and prayers that balance out the pain of loss. The pain we feel for the loss of a child that we wanted to see grow old. The pain we feel for a 16 year old boy whose life was also changed in an instant.

We have been doing hard things here. Things that I wish no parent (or aunt or grandparent) should do. And even though it does not help much with today (or the nights- those are bad), we do know where Allison is and we know we will be reunited.

"For the love of the Son of God pierces all darkness, softens all sorrow and gladdens every heart." -Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf


PS My brother Jared put words to all of our feelings:
Mourning a Loss

Yes, you can decorate a few cookies.

I was decorating these cookies and Rachel and Skye asked if they could help. I helped them frost a few and then turned to wash some dishes while they decorated. When I finally looked at the cookies I had to laugh- can you tell which ones they decorated? If you were a child, which cookie would you want?!!

A Fun Letter

I got this email this morning from Japan:
Dear Mr and Mrs Seamons

Hello!! Thank you your message.

If possible I want to have a barbecue with you.

And If possible I want to see a starry sky in your city.

I hope to see you soon, thank you. ( ^O^ ) from Nobutaka

Next week we will welcome our Japanese exchange student. It has been an amazing experience the last few years. This year we will be able to share Adrie's Birthday and Halloween with our student! I think Halloween will be a confusing experience- try explaining the concept of Halloween to someone that doesn't speak English!! As a note, many of the students are excited to see stars- in Japan there is too much light and they don't see many stars. I think we can manage both a barbecue and some stars.

PS The image is Nara, the home of our student.

Please excuse my absence:

I am spending a lot of time making sure this child doesn't hurt himself.

PS Nathan's picture shot by my friend Nichole.