Celebration of Life

Yesterday we attended Michelle's Celebration of Life. The service was in a nice church that didn't feel church-y at all but rather like a meeting room at a business. Pat (Michelle's dad), Bette (Michelle's mom), Sharrie (Michelle's sister), and Ryan (Michelle's brother) all got up and talked a bit. A few other friends and family members also spoke. I wish I'd prepared something but the thought never crossed my mind. One thing that no one mentioned was how proud Michelle was that she was still attending college. She was working towards a degree at Portland State University; getting her BA was a big dream for her. So I wish I'd prepared something about that.

Keats wore a tie for the first time. He said he looked "like a news guy; like Colbert!" ;o) We don't have any dress shoes for the boys, mostly because they are so very rarely actually dressed...but he has a new pair of brown Converse that looked great. I think he looked like David Letterman or maybe the son of a rock star.


We took Sullivan to Melina's house so he could nap. The ceremony started at 1 pm and that is usually around the time Sully sleeps. Keaton did an amazing job throughout the whole ceremony! I think I was much more fidgety than he was; he also didn't talk much or whine.

Keats had been looking forward to the ceremony all week. Sounds strange, perhaps, but here's how a five-year-old looked at our situation, "I can't wait 'til Thursday because I get to say goodbye to Michelle AND I get to wear a tie AND I get a cookie!" Don't you wish we could all view the world that way?

We had to wait for Mike to get off the phone for work until we could leave for the ceremony. The boys and I entertained ourselves by taking these pictures. The lens was all smudged up from a certain two-year-old's grubby fingers...