I'm late, but still wanted to share a little from our Memorial Day weekend.
On Saturday, my brother, two sisters and I went to the cemetery where my parents are buried to bring some flowers and pay our respects. This isn't something that we usually do together, but we were free that day and it was really nice to remember them together.
My parents stone with Dad's military plaque on the back of it.
We spent some time walking around, remembering people who are laid to rest there. It's a country cemetery, many family members are there, and lots of people we went to church with as kids. It was a nice thing to do together.
Some of the family stones; Henry was my great grandfather, my grandparents, Peter and Adrianna, an infant that just says infant DeWeerd, and Edna, who was my Dad's sister. She was 1 year old and died of meningitis.
Here's the 4 of us. My brother Duane, me, Terri and Cheri. Our birth order is: me, Duane, Terri and Cheri. I'm blessed with a great family!
On Memorial Day, Bob and I went for a beautiful 3 mile hike. This is a trail that goes through woods and then along the Grand River. It was a beautiful day and we greatly enjoyed being out in God's great creation.
Imagine our surprise when we ran into our daughter Laura who was out for a run with their dog on the same trail. (She's the one who told us about this place, so we shouldn't have been too surprised...)
On our way home, we stopped at the cemetery where Bob's parents and some other family members are buried.
We walked around here, just like I had done with my siblings, and found familiar names of people we remembered.
Bob's parents and a sister that was born with health issues and died before Bob was born.
Bob's grandparents and great grandparents. Note that on his great grandparents stone Father and Mother are written in Dutch.
Then we came home and had a quiet afternoon and evening. We watched a movie on WWII in the evening. It was a nice way to spend the day and be thankful for those who gave all for our Freedom.
Dear Mari, beautiful photos with the 4 of you and the cemetery. It's so important to remember those who fought for our freedom.
ReplyDeleteNot sure if you ever saw this movie or not, but it is on YouTube...the whole movie.
It is called The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
It is a very touching movie about WWII. I am not sure if it is based on a true story or not, but it very well could be. Excellent movie with a valuable lesson.
Thank you so much for sharing this post, dear friend.
What a memorable way to spend Memorial Day weekend.
ReplyDeleteI always love when I run into one of our adult children unplanned. I smile so big. LOL!
What a beautiful trail.
This is what Memorial Day is all about. Togetherness and memories. You had a lovely and memorable day. You and your siblings all look so much alike!
ReplyDeleteYou are blessed with nice siblings. What a lovely way to spend memorial day.
ReplyDeleteCathy
Hi Mari! I love that picture of you with your siblings. Looks like you had a lovely Memorial Day honoring those who had gone on before. I love that hike you went on. I hope you have a great week! See you again soon!
ReplyDeleteLovely post! So nice for you to meet up with your siblings and to visit the graves and show your respect. I really like that trail! How wonderful to bump into your daughter!
ReplyDeleteMari, this was such an inspiring post. I'm glad that it worked out for you and your siblings to be able to visit the cemetery together where your parents, grandparents and great grandparents are laid to rest. And then for you and Bob to be able to take that lovely hike (and see Laura there!) and finish off the day with visiting the cemetery where Bob's family is buried just rounded things out.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful way to spend Memorial Day weekend. Love all of the pictures.
ReplyDeleteHow lovely you could get together with your siblings to remember your parents.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful place for a hike and how cool to run into your daughter!
It's lovely that you were all together. We're all scattered now, so my husband and I went and planted flowers and then snapped a picture and sent it in the group chat. Not the same thing, but we're happy to do it and my siblings are all very grateful.
ReplyDeleteYour weekend had it all. Solemn remembrance, family, nature, and making memories. You really do have a wonderful family.
ReplyDeleteHi Mari, I enjoyed your pictures! Taking a siblings picture is great! I hope to get one at my grandsons graduation party. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteI always like wandering around in the cemeteries. I find it fascinating. Love the photos of your family headstones and really like the photo of you and your brother and sisters. Its so precious that you are located close to each other.
ReplyDeleteIt really sounds like the perfect day of remembrance.
Sue
I always find cemeteries interesing place to explore, even when I don't know anyone buried there. Thanks for taking us along with you and Bob. That hiking trail is beautiful and how fun to see Laura while you were there! I am glad I got to meet your sister, Cheri, but wish I could have met Terri as well!! I like her name!! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely and special Memorial Day spending it honoring your relatives all together. So fun to see you with all of your siblings. That path looks amazing to go for walks! Blessings over all of your relatives resting in love -and to you and Bob on the week ahead. xo
ReplyDeleteNice surprise to run into your daughter. Looks like a great place for a walk.
ReplyDeleteSounds nice walking around the cemetery.
This is such a beautiful post, Mari. I'm glad you could spend time at the cemeteries, and some of that with family (those who are still alive!!).
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful way to spend Memorial Day weekend! You and your siblings favor a lot! Coincidentally, my sister and I just visited our family cemetery today to put out new flowers. We had put off buying new ones, trying to figure out a way to combine summer and fall. We ended up with sunflowers, but I imagine the glaring sun will fade them out long before fall arrives. Thank you for sharing your visits. Have a wonderful week!
ReplyDeleteThis is a lovely post. Nice to see you with your siblings.
ReplyDeleteA wonderful post.
ReplyDeleteSuch a lovely way to spend memorial day.
All the best Jan
How beautiful to visit your parents' graves. Reminds me of my siblings visiting the cemetery at our home church in Manheim where our parents are buried. That's been probably 8 or 9 years ago already. Yikes! But we recognized so many names. Really a trip down memory lane.
ReplyDeleteAwesome - you have a lot of family heritage there.
ReplyDeleteMari, this is a most beautiful post. Thank you for sharing your day with us. I loved hearing and seeing the memories of your family. And how nice you and your siblings were there together! Such a beautiful photo of you all! Your parents are surely proud. Have a cozy evening. It is a bit chilly here in Maryland. I am inside snuggled on the couch!
ReplyDeleteHow fun to meet your daughter on the trail. We use to travel to all of the cemeteries when we were younger. No longer do it. How wonderful all of your siblings were able to go as well. A wonderful pic of you all. Janice
ReplyDeleteWell you know that I think this is so meaningful and loving and great. I have done tours of cemeteries full of TG's family members in various places in Ohio, but there is no such place for my family. So how fortunate you all are! That's a beautiful picture of you with your brother and sisters! And all of the gravestones are so great. I love the "mother" and "father" in Dutch! Fantastic! Thank you so much for sharing this! xoxo 🪦🏴☠️
ReplyDeleteI love the picture of the four of you. That one for sure I'd hang. Really, really good. And those trees. All of it really. Nice that you got together to do this day.
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