My baby's funeral

Yesterday I went to my daughter's funeral, and today we buried her.

I thought having to bury one baby, a year and a half ago, was the hardest thing I would have to go through in my life.  But I had to endure it again.

Despite the immense the grief and sadness I feel right now, I am eternally grateful for the support we have received over the last week. Our service for Elisa yesterday was absolutely beautiful and we could not have done it without the amazing support of our friends, family and church community.

We are so grateful for the amazing support of our friend Chris, who is a funeral director. Both Mr V and I knew Chris individually before we even knew each other. He was also in the chapel choir where Mr V and I met 10 years ago.  Having Chris there to hold our hands and guide us through this difficult time was such a blessing and something we can never repay him.  Not only knowing he was a friend who would not try to take advantage us in our time of grief, but Chris has an amazing way with both being incredibly spiritually deep and supportive, but then also know the exact moment to say something slightly inappropriate that would make us laugh :)

We are also so grateful for the support of our choir director Bill, and the members of our chapel choir that sang. As you may have picked up, Music is very important to Mr V and I.  Bill met with us to go over all the music we wanted to incorporate (and it was a lot!) and he helped us plan the service.  He also printed the worship aids, coordinated with the choir, and the priest and was just a wonderful friend through all of this.

The Choir, wow the choir.  When we walked in to the church, Both Mr. V and I almost lost it.  As we walked in they were practicing "Jesus Christ The Apple Tree" (we chose this because it was a song Mr V and I had sung in choir when we first met, and Elisa's plot at the cemetery is just below a little tree) And wow was the singing beautiful.  Then we rounded the corner where we could actually see the choir and there were 19 singers...19!   Plus a pianist, a guitarist and a violinist.  Some were friends we had sung every weekend with for years and years, others had left the choir years ago, and we had not seen them in a very long time and one brand new member, who we had never met even came.  It was so humbling the outpouring of love and support.

My Uncle, who hand made her little Casket, or as we like to call it, her little bed.  It was so beautiful and we could tell the love he put into it while he made it.  He Even made a little cross to go on top of it.

Everyone who came to the service.  We were so humbled by the number of people who showed up. Friends, family, co-workers.  Some people we had not seen since our wedding, others members of our church community who we had seen and talked to, but didn't know they knew us, Friends all the way back from high school an their parents.  It just seemed like a testament to our little girls life that she was bringing people together.

The music was beautiful, the setting was beautiful, and Mr V even sang a song to our little girl, the Faure Pie Jesu (I totally lost it when he started singing) Although it was very hard it was healing to see the love everyone had for her, and to see how many people have witnessed her short but beautiful life.