... so much to do . . . so much love extended . . .

...the next few days were filled with the "usual" preparations that must be made when someone has passed away . . . meet with the funeral director (Rick's former brother-in-law & his wife and one of my FAVORITE couples on the face of this earth), decide on a burial spot (this really can't be real, can it, I have to do THIS?) . . . thanks to the LORD and a WONDERFUL community of family, church family and friends, decisions were made and agreed upon quickly and easily. The "big" kids asked if they could go and choose items at the funeral home, and I was happy to let them take on this task . . . I fully TRUSTED their judgement, and this was something they needed to do for their Daddy. We agreed upon service times and at the suggestion of Rick's cousin, we decided to ask attendees at services wear either their camo clothing or Packer clothing - to honor Rick's memory and his love for life! After all, we were grieving for ourselves, but not for Rick - he was SAFE in the arms of Jesus! The visits, the phone calls, the food (!), the facebook messages, the texts, the cards . . . were overwhelming, we KNEW how much we loved Rick, but we saw quickly that he really was loved by so many and he truly did not have enemies! He touched many lives and taught us all how to live life to the fullest and to love unconditionally! I don't think we ever got a final count of visitors at the funeral home, but we figure it was well over 500 people! Words cannot describe the outpouring of love we felt from so many people! We wished for GOD to be honored through Rick's life and even his death, and I believe we did that during his memorial service. The service ended with the song, "When We All Get To Heaven", a fitting song, as that would be Rick's final wish . . . to see everyone who was there to bid him an earthly farewell when their time comes to bid this old world goodbye. . . .