Hunter's funeral

Dear Blog,
 Yesterday I went to the funeral of a little 12 year old boy.  Hunter Hall was killed in a 4 wheeling accident.  Funerals for children are very hard.  I'm not very close to his mom but I know her boyfriend Dustin.  He is Mike's best friend.  I met Hunter one time.  I remember being impressed with how polite he was.  He was playing with the kids at the barbeque and he stopped to talk to me for a minute in the kitchen.

Hunter really likes anything with an engine.  Especially cool cars.  With Mark's help Mike got the Corvette Club to attend the viewing and the funeral.  There was one especially cool Corvette that was painted in Hunter's favorite colors, purple and yellow.  The Corvette Club brought Hunter a replica of that car.

I hardly knew Hunter but the loss of a child is so tragic.

After going to the viewing, Mike wanted to stop by a McDonalds and check on the electrical work that his crew had done there.  Unfortunately, the general contractor was there working so Mike had to get out and talk to him.  We waited for what felt like forever and then the girls and I decided the best way to get through the duldrums of waiting was to get a McFlurry.  Half way through eating her McFlurry Amanda remembered that she was trying to be on a diet and she would use the opportunity of down time to do some exercise.  So there she was at midnight doing laps around the trailblazer at the McDonalds parking lot.  She is so goofy.  We were laughing so hard!

In addition to the Corvette Club, there was a bike club.  The Iron Order.  I gotta admit I'm a little intimidated by bikers but these guys were so awesome escorting us to the cemetery and then revving their motors when the balloons were let go.

                                  Pretty cool funeral for a pretty cool boy.  He was very loved. 

Amanda

Today I'm going to talk about Amanda as the person who has influenced my life.  Today is her birthday.  Sweet 18!  She always says that we should be grateful because our lives would be so boring without her.  She does keep things exciting!  She has changed so much since Jaxson came.  I mean, I loved her before and she was definitely in the top 3 of my favorite kids but I rely on her so much now.  She cooks dinner every day and is always asking me what I need help with.  I would definitely be lost without her.  She is trying so hard to make good choices right now.  She never expects anyone to do anything for her she is trying to be very independant.  She is very brave.  She might not be getting along with me or her sisters from time to time but she would never let anyone insult or disrespect her family.  She has strong loyalties and understands the meaning of loyalty more than most.  She is also very funny.  Did you know that she wants a monkey at her funeral handing out kleenex's to people crying?  I could go on and on about her I'm so lucky she's mine!  The difference she has made in my life is to let me know I deserve everything I want and I should strive to get it.