The trip was great, bitter-sweet but great. The best part of the trip was meeting the people who knew and loved Linz. We drove over 900 miles around England to see the places where Lindsey lived and meet the people who she loved. Our first stop was Coventry, then on to Preston, quaint little Stroud (the most beautiful place ever), Wales, and finally London.
I was the designated driver since I was the only one who knew how to drive on the left side of the road. Who knew that living in Boston and Japan would prepare me for driving in England. There are round abouts everywhere--huge ones with lots of traffic. By some miracle we survived without a dent.
Leaving England was hard. I felt like we closed a door on a part of Lindsey's life we will never be able to open again. It seems like sometimes we get pushed along in the grieving process whether we are ready or not.
Hooray for England pics! Wish I could've gone, but it looks like fun. Love the music too.
ReplyDeleteWow Mel, what an amazing amazing experience. Those will be great memories!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great trip, I am glad you were able to go. We went for our first wedding anniversary, our bathroom was just as small. ;)
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing experience! I am so glad you were able to visit England with your family. I didn't even realize you were going. I love your pictures and you look fabulous!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you made that trip, Mel. Your family is amazing...beautiful and courageous. What a priceless experience to discover your sis' mission together.
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing experience! Seriously I was tearing up looking at the those pictures with that song going in the background. How incredible that you were able to experience it with your family. I'm not surprised you were the designated driver. You were always the best driver on the those trips from Rexburg to Utah. ;)
ReplyDeleteMel-Isn't England beautiful? I am so glad you got to go visit the best mission in the world. What a great experience to see where Lindsey served. P.S. Where's your blog about your birthday? Happy Birthday!
ReplyDeleteYour pictures are absolutely incredible! What a wonderful opportunity to walk togeher as a family the same path as Lindsey.
ReplyDeleteYou look beautiful, Mel. You're very blessed to have a close-knit family ... it's so important to have that unconditional love and support.
I have to agree with Rebecca ... we want a post on your birthday! It would be nice to know the EXACT day!! :)
It's hard to watch that without getting a lump in your throat. I'm sure that was a special experience. I bet Lindsey loved seeing all of you see where she served and the people she loved. What a strong family you have! I laughed about you being the designated driver. Sheesh, that would scare me to death driving on the left side of the road. By the way, the comment that you made about my blog backgrounds - I'm still trying to figure out how I figured it out.
ReplyDeleteBawling! So beautiful Mel. I love the smiles on your faces in these pictures. I had another dream last night, i wasn't going to bring it up but then i caught my mom on ichat today and she said she was out the door to go to dinner with you, so i visited your page and John Mayer is singing "say what you need to say, it's better to say too much than not enough". So here i am saying it. :) If you want details, email me sometime. Love to Japan from here in Farmington!
ReplyDeleteEmme.
That is so awesome, Melanie. Thank you for sharing. It is quite an experience to go there at such a time for your family. It was beautiful and especially the spirit you feel reading and seeing all you did. Love, Pam
ReplyDeleteI'm now booking tickets to England. Not really, but sheesh! what a beautiful place.
ReplyDeleteI hope it brought you a bit of closure and peace seeing the land and the people your sister served and loved. I can't imagine how hard and wonderful that would have been all at once.
These pictures are incredible - what an opportunity you had to visit Lindsey's mission. When I saw the picture of the tree they planted, along with your family standing there, I could only imagine how that impacted you. (My brother served his mission in Coventry, England. Now I really want to go!!)
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