Wednesday, 13 November 2013

Once again, it's been a while!

The past few months have been a bit of a roller coaster for our family. 
 
The 29 September saw us celebrating Emily's birthday. We went out for breakfast to start off her birthday but while out I got a phone call from Jon telling me that his brother Mike had had a heart attack at Church.
An ambulance got there quickly and the paramedics spent time getting his heart going again before taking him to the main Cardiac Unit in Brighton, about an hour from us. Sadly, Mike passed away in the early hours of Saturday, 05 October.

We're thankful that he was in Church when it happened and help was quickly on hand. We are also thankful that his sons, Ryan and Darren were able to get to the UK from Canada and South Africa respectively, that his sister Deb came down from Yorkshire and brother, Simon, flew in from America and all got to say their goodbyes.

Ryan's wife and sons flew in from Canada, Darren's girlfriend arrived from South Africa as did their mother, Merle and Mike's sister Penny. It was lovely to get the opportunity to spend time with extended family in the run up to the funeral and to see the other family members who were able to make it to the funeral from the UK.

 Family
Deb, Simon, Penny, Ryan, Jon, Darren, Ryan's son Owen, Mike's son Steve, Mike's step father Frank and nephew Mark.
 Siblings Deb, Simon, Penny & Jon with Frank
 
 Alice loved having young cousins to play with - seen here with Owen (thank goodness for iPads!)
 Ryan's wife Shannon - love this girl and so glad we got to spend time together.
 Claire and Megan
 Merle with Shannon (her daughter-in-law)
 Sarah (Mike's daughter-in-law), Emily and Norma
 Darren and Natasha
 Emily and me
Finton, Ryan & Shannon's younger son.
 
Despite the sadness of the occasion, there were many happy moments, lots of memories shared and Mike's life celebrated. I'm sure he'd have been pleased to see so many family members together again and enjoying each others company.
 
I hope to post again in the next few days.
 
xx

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12 comments:

  1. Anonymous13 November 2013 at 16:01

    Oh, Rhona, I am so sorry for your loss. Sending hugs and a prayer!!
    I did enjoy seeing your photos!

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    1. Rhona13 November 2013 at 16:13

      Thank you Tammy. I'm so behind with everything but hoping to get caught up soon and then I'll be able to do some blog reading again.

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  2. Deb @ PaperTurtle13 November 2013 at 16:12

    These are such great family photos, Rhona - so very bittersweet. I'm so sorry for your loss, but having experienced something similar I can really appreciate how wonderful all that family time is. Pity that families come together when someone leaves us, but so many blessings wrapped around that time too. xo

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    1. Rhona13 November 2013 at 16:15

      Thanks Deb. We said the same thing at the funeral because we all so enjoyed seeing each other and catching up. We hope to plan a get together "just because" soon but with everyone spread around the world it's not that easy.

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  3. Unknown13 November 2013 at 16:18

    So sorry for your loss, but yes - great photos of some quality family time. <3

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  4. Becky13 November 2013 at 18:04

    So sorry for your loss. As Deb says, so bittersweet to have such lovely family photos. After my grandparents passed within a month of each other and we saw the extended family twice for sad events we decided to hold a family party and invite them all for a celebration. I have to say it was wonderful and we included my grandparents in our thoughts and out loud that day. Nice to see you back blogging xx

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    1. Rhona14 November 2013 at 13:33

      Thanks Becky. I think a big family party would be a good idea - perhaps a summer picnic :)

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  5. Karen13 November 2013 at 23:13

    I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. It seems so sad that often our family reunions are focused around saying good-bye to our loved ones. Beautiful photos!!

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    1. Rhona14 November 2013 at 13:35

      Thanks Karen, unfortunately we seem to be getting to the age where there are more goodbyes being said. We decided to make the most of the chance to be together and to celebrate Mike's life.

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  6. This West London Life15 November 2013 at 19:43

    I'm sorry to hear about your loss. But from that came all these wonderful people in the same place at the same time, and that's something to be thankful for, isn't it? Getting older sadly means of more of these gatherings than we'd possibly like. Love to you all.

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    1. Rhona16 November 2013 at 18:02

      Thanks Ruth, it was lovely to have to opportunity to see everyone, despite the sadness of the occasion.

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