We were blessed to have Zion's ashes buried alongside Jordan's resting place. I am so grateful that we were able to have them buried next to each other. We held a small graveside service with our immediate family members. As we went through this process to prepare for the service it was neat to see the Lord's hand directing us, helping us understand that Zion is our Son, a soul too pure to come to earth. I'm so grateful for those "tender mercies" amidst the sadness and sorrow.
We were able to do a sweet balloon send off at the end of the service. Here is Trent behind all of the balloons when we tried to fit them into the car before we headed over to the Lehi Cemetery.
We found a beautiful box to bury Zion's ashes in along with a few special things for Zion. Again, we had some neat experiences as we found each one of these items. Each thing was perfect in every way for our little Zion! Here we are with the book we found "I Love You More," and his little turtle. We found this sweet mother turtle with a baby on it's back, it plays the song "You are my sunshine." We purchased two of each of these things. One to bury Zion with and one for us to have forever in our home.
I love these next few pictures because you can see Jordan's headstone in the background. It is the one with the windmill behind us.
Zion's ashes
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Tanner trying to grab the book again....haha....he wouldn't leave it alone.
We kept the service pretty simple. We opened by singing "Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise." I read the letter I had written to Zion and then read the book we buried him with. Trina shared a few quotes from the brethren. Next we sang "I love to See the Temple." Then Trent gave the dedicatory prayer. Here is my letter to Zion:
My dear, sweet, pure Zion,
I guess to
say things truthfully; I have been struggling to write this letter. It seems so
hard to me to put my feelings into words. I fear that they would be inadequate;
somehow less than what I would want to share with you. I feel that is probably because
of the overwhelming feeling of love I have for you.
I want you
to know that I love you! Your Father and I so desperately wanted YOU to be a
part of our family here on earth. I know now that this was not meant to be and
I must trust in my Heavenly Father that he knows what is best for our family.
He is the great orchestrator of our lives and I will choose to trust in him.
Please know
how much you mean to us. Though the veil separates us at present please know
that you will always be in our hearts and in our minds. I will think of you
daily and love you always, with all of my heart. It seems words fall short
of expression.
I give
thanks for the gospel knowledge we have, for revelation given from a loving
Heavenly Father who has been teaching us how we are an eternal family. I am
ever grateful for his tender mercies that have helped me to know that you are
there and that you are my son. I know that the veil can be thin at times and I
pray that though you are not here on this earth physically that we can still
come to know you and feel of your presence in our family.
Please know
that I have a testimony of my Savior Jesus Christ. I know that through him the
bonds of death have been broken, making the resurrection possible for all
mankind. I also know that it is through him that I can overcome my weaknesses and
become perfected to one day be able to enter into his rest, and once again be
with you. Until that glorious reunion my son, please know of the sacred place
you hold in my heart and continue to feel of my love.
With all my
love, forever and always,
After the service we did a balloon send off. We had 18 balloons. One for everyone there. We let everyone write a note to Zion on their balloon, if they wanted to, and then we let all of the balloons go at the same time. It was sweet and wonderful! I loved seeing other family member write their feelings to Zion and the balloons seemed so amazing as they floated away toward heaven.
Trent, Tanner, and I stayed until Zion was buried. My mom took this picture from far away as they were driving off. The quality isn't the best, but I thought it was a nice picture that captured the moment. I'm grateful for that handsome man standing next to me who gives me the strength I need during difficult times.
Afterward we decorated Zion's grave. Tanner thought that was pretty fun.
We decorated Jordan's grave too before we left :)
You can see Tanner next to Zion's grave and Trent next to Jordan's grave. I'm so happy that we were able to be bury them next to each other.
I LOVE this picture! It is as if Tanner is saying, "Oh, man! Can I please just have a brother here on earth to play with."
"I think it would be a good idea."
This is how Tanner covered Zions grave. It was sweet.
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| Didn't Tanner do a nice job? |
Our two sweet little angels!
