Anne was in the sixth grade when this photo was snapped.  She wrote on the back of this photo that I found today  "My teacher was Mrs. Lyman. She was ok". LOL. Here's what I love about this photo that I don't ever remember seeing before....so often in the first 65 years of her life Mom had a strong BURST of Laughter just on the edge waiting to ERUPT.  This look captures something that was so familiar to me about her beautiful face. ERUPTIONS OF LAUGHTER.

When the Heavenly Father answered our prayers and she quietly and peacefully took her last breath at 3:50am on the Sabbath morning of July 24, one of my first clear imaginations was that of her filling the vastness of Heaven with ERUPTIONS OF LAUGHTER.  

For the last decade her laughter was stolen by dementia.  BUT NOT ANYMORE.  Anne is NEVER, EVER AGAIN going to be stifling her joy - it will be FULL AND FREE as she DELIGHTS in Jesus and the Kingdom of His Father.  

I am speechless, really, about it all.

But this week as we cry and cry and cry and laugh and remember, I just fix my gaze on the faithfulness of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; To Mom and to me and to Damon and to Nikki and to DeMarcus and to Taylor and to Ashley and to Trent and to Meg and to Trey and to Emma and to Abby and to more men and women and children who were impacted by Anne in a variety of beautiful and hard ways: Holy Hilarity!

Her story, her legacy ripples on because it is a story of the JOY of our REDEEMER.

"My Redeemer is faithful and true,

every thing He has said He will do,

and every morning His mercies are new.

My Redeemer is faithful and true." - Steven Curtis Chapman

Thank you for laughing and crying with us.  We are so upheld by the Love of God and the care of HIS body!