With Love From Utah

On Wednesday, January 14th, my life changed forever as I knew it could.  Our daughter Siena Therese lived on this earth for only a matter of a couple hours, but she touched so many people in her short life.  Eventually I want to document as much as I can remember of all of the moments of the past week, but I'm discovering that writing any one *chunk* at one time is more than I have in me.  I want to start writing before I forget, however, so I'm going to start posting shorter things as they come.


Today, we held Siena's funeral Mass.

Wow.

A full post about today will have to wait, but I want to share a couple examples of just how many ways we have been wrapped in love during this journey.

This is my friend Shannon (and her husband Colin and Lucie, but they aren't really in this story...this is just the most recent picture of her I could find)



Shannon heard that our mutual friend, Father Carl, would be traveling from Utah to Minnesota for Siena's funeral.

When she heard this, she called up Father Carl and asked if he would be willing to transport a treat for us. (Shannon, for the record, is excellent in the kitchen.)  Father Carl said yes, but admits to being more than a little surprised and unsure exactly how it would work when this gorgeous loaf of Swedish bread was delivered to him.



Now imagine yourself as a fellow air traveler...seeing a priest carrying this through airport security!   The mental picture brings more than a little smile to my face.

Speaking of bringing a smile to my face is the man himself.



When Tim told him about our priest being out of the country and not having a priest to preside over Siena's funeral Mass that we knew, he agreed to spend his weekly "day off" flying half way across the country to be with us.  My parents provided airline miles and Aidan gave up his mattress so Father would have a place to sleep that was a step up from the couch.  Tim and Aidan drove up Sunday night to pick him up from the airport, and Tim's mom and aunt dropped him back off on their way home from the church.

All told he was in Minnesota only 24 hours, but his presence here was nothing short of incredible.

He even wore his #SienaStrong button.

Oh, and since he did all that work to deliver Shannon's tasty treat we made sure to serve it to him for breakfast.

Utah may have only been home for a few short years, but those years will not be forgotten thanks to these two (and many other) people.