A Ten-Year Celebration

I have been in tears way too many times this month, looking at all of the people who released balloons and wrote wonderful remembrances of Georgia.  Thank you so so much for helping our family feel close to Georgia.  I hope it was as healing to all of you as it was to us.  We had such a special day on the 10th anniversary and I don't want to take any excitement out of what Haleigh Vance is creating with all of the footage of the balloon releases, but I wanted to post a couple of pictures of the Salt Lake City gathering.  The light and spirit of the weekend has stayed with me and really changed me.  I returned home to Milwaukee feeling UP and Joyful and more than anything, Grateful.  Because of Georgia's wonderful way of living we were able to rejoice and celebrate this event instead of mourn, although there were tears aplenty.  Wish you could have all been there, but we felt your support in a very real way.  Thank you.

My beautiful mother with flowers from old friends, the Debry's.

My cute dad who excitedly went to buy 20 balloons - all in the wrong colors!  We gave him a hard time about it and got a really good laugh out of it and true to his character, he took it like a man.  He took care of so many details that day including cleaning up the grave.  We couldn't have done it without him.

My parents shared journal entries and Georgia's testimony of the Book of Mormon.

A picture with all of the sisters, even Georgia.

Adam, our brother, rounding up kids and balloons.  It ended up being a gorgeous night.

Elder Neal Anderson and his wife came to honor Georgia (they are friends of my parents and came to know them well while serving in Brazil when Georgia pass away).  Elder Anderson shared some wonderful and comforting words, recounting the story of Lazarus and telling us that his story is for all of us and that the resurrection is real and true and it feels good to us because it is true, not just because that's what we want to hear.  It was a humble but sure testimony and I loved it.  

Dear and wonderful music friends with their children - a few of whom share a common name.  One of their daughters ("Sister Shearer" who served as a missionary in Nauvoo with Georgia - in the lighter pink shirt) made sure everyone at the grave knew that her name was Georgia.  One of the two little girls in front (Brittany Gardner's daughter) has the middle name Georgia, and that's George in the arms of his father, Joe Marshall.  With my own daughter Georgia, my nephew George, all of these children, and others I haven't mentioned, our dear Georgia Marriott will be remembered for generations.