Thank you Thank you Thank you

My dad's funeral was yesterday. Beautiful sunny day with a little wind. It was a hard day but a beautiful day to celebrate my dad's life. We had parked my dad's 2 antique cars in front of the church. Then 4 antique cars from the Saskatoon Antique Auto Club showed up and lined up behind my Dad's cars...it was amazing...thanks so much you guys for coming out, it meant so much to the family.

The service was beautiful, I liked the grandkids tributes the most. Everyone who had a part of the service...thanks!

The church was full, that was good to see, I know it was little warm. The support was felt by the family as we were walking into the sanctuary...almost surreal. The one memory of the day that is the strongest is the smell of the flowers. To those who sent flowers , thank you. I especially want to say thank you to New Holland for the beautiful arrangements. Hey Sheldon, nice touch with the blue vase.

Thanks to all those who helped with the lunch , from setting up , serving, cleaning up...a HUGE thanks.

To all those who came out from many different places...Elm Creek, Linden, Winnipeg, Altona, Swift Current,Calgary, Leduc, Hodgeville, Saskatoon and many more I am sure...thank you.

Family gathered at our house for the week, we were kinda the central location. Many cups of coffee were consumed. We had many meals together...and we ate very well! Many very kind people brought food for all the hungry tummys. Thanks so much to friends, neighbours, small groups, and the Co-op! Also a thanks to the Care giver's group for giving us lunch the day of the service...that soup was amazing! Oh and Trevor says the brownies were awesome too.

My phone has never rang so much...and that is a good thing. People who weren't able to make it called, even if it was just a 5 minute call, to say they were thinking of us.

I have to say a great big thanks to Funk's funeral home in Dalmeny. Gerald...you did such a great job. You have a very comforting way about you and as a family we felt everything was in capable hands...and the flowers were perfect!

Thank you Jackey for what you did for my Mom, her hair looked great!

I want to say some personal thank you' s. Jeff and Connie...I know I have said thank you about a million times but what you did for my mom on friday was so thoughtful, for the work you did for the service, and I am glad you speak "Mac" it eased my anxiety quite a bit. Your support during the whole day of the funeral was great. To Lynette, Diane, Nicole...ladies...the hugs, the phone calls, the food, the love...it means the world to me. Keri, the email came at the perfect time, I even used the picture you sent in the slide show. Andrew, Stephanie, Tanya, Mom and Dad R...thanks for driving out, it was so great to see your faces. Tara J, Rob and Kyla, I guess I will say the same thing, it meant so much to myself and to Trevor to see you guys. To my Barkman family...thank you, my Mom really appreciated you all coming and to those who couldn't make it...well felt your thoughts and prayers. To those who have done the small things that sometimes go unnoticed...thank you.

Wayne, Joey, Tara...I am blessed to have you as siblings... hard times, good times...we share so many memories. I love you guys so much. JoDee, Tania, Dave, David, Tim, Danny...I am blessed to have you as my family...no other words can say it but I love you guys, thanks so much for the love back.

To my Mom...I love you. You have always been my role model, I look up to you, my kids look up to you. You are a strong woman, a woman of prayer, a very caring person. The outpouring of love during this time is a testament to your life.

The biggest thank you I have to give is to Trevor. I don't know what I would have done without you. Your strength was so needed this week... for me and the rest of my family. I love you.

A new chapter of my life now begins. My daughter(who is 6 1/2) came up to me and said," I'm not sad anymore mommy, because I just think of all the happy things I did with Grandpa".

She has a point. While I may still feel sad...I cling to the happy moments. The last memory of my Dad is him waving goodbye to me as I drove off the yard the evening before he died.

I know there are no pictures on this post, and I did not take any. My memory of this even is in my mind and my heart.