In Loving Memory

Andrew's aunt Alice Hill fought a brave fight against cancer and went to be with the Lord on November 20th. Although I was only able to visit with Alice twice, at my wedding and at Adam & Heather's wedding, I felt like I knew her through the e-mails we shared over the years. She was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer about 2 1/2 years ago. She went through chemo and various surgeries, but ultimately, the cancer never cleared. The most impressive thing about Alice's battle was that she was always talking about her trust and faith in the Lord. She would e-mail about her progress, or lack of, and would always end with a statement of faith in the Lord. What an amazing woman she was. She was an inspiration to all who watched her fight for her health, knowing all along that if God was calling her home, she was happy with that too.

Andrew, Drew, and I went to Apple Valley, MN (a suburb of Minneapolis) last week to attend Alice's memorial service. Alice planned the whole service herself, and it was an inspirational worship service full of praise and giving glory to God. It's always a mixed blessing when attending family events like this. It's so fun to see family and have everyone together, but it's overshadowed by the loss of someone you love.

Seeing the Hill family again was wonderful. It had been 5 years since we saw them last. I was so impressed with their graciousness and generosity while we were there. They were grieving the loss of their wife/mother, yet they spent the whole weekend catering to us and serving us. Alice raised 2 wonderfully kind children...Jennifer and Kevin. The eulogy at Alice's memorial service spoke of the love Alice's children had for her and how they rallied around each other to enjoy the last days Alice had on earth and to care for her in her darkest moments. The Hill family knows true love.

Don (Alice's husband) kept saying "Alice would just love this" at every gathering we had. The great thing about the weekend was that while we were sad Alice wasn't with us, we were rejoicing that she was now in the Lord's care...she had received a new body...she was no longer in pain...she was rejoicing and praising the Lord. So, while we were sad, we rejoiced too. We enjoyed each other's company as Alice would have wanted.

We took time to visit Andrew's grandmother who is in a nursing home there in Minneapolis. It was amazing to see 4 generations of Bossens together at once. We also explored around the "Bossen" part of town. Andrew's great-grandfather was park commissioner in Minneapolis and was honored with being the namesake to a park and various streets and buildings around town. We found the Bossen Apartments, Bossen Field (a large recreational park in the middle of town), and Bossen Terrace (a street near the park area). We also took Drew to LegoLand in the Mall of America and Grandpa Doug treated Drew to his first merry-go-round ride!