First Christmas In Heaven...

David left in Sept. as you all know
I was surely not ready to let him go.
He had to go 'cause he was old
And that's God's plan, as we've been told.
At age 93, he'd had a good life
But he sure didn't want to leave his wife.

If a death could be perfect, then David's was
He just slipped away with no obvious cause.
He'd seen all his kin in the last week or two
But to see them together, just woudn't do.
To his room they all went, one or two at a time
They visited and talked, (just can't make this rhyme)

For a week, he'd' been talking 'bout traveling on
But I just never thought that so soon he'd be gone.
He wanted to talk about things and such
But to talk about death was a little much.
So I wrote him a note just two days before,
I told him my love went right to the core.

I said if his time should come before mine,
He should just go in peace and that I would be fine.
"We have good kids who will take care of me,
So don't you fret, and don't you worry!
When Father is ready he'll call you back home,
Where you'll be safe and sound, no more to roam."

He felt funny and different, he said that day
But I took him out for a drive anyway.
He wanted to spend some time just with me
His legs were painful below the knee.
To the farm we went on that sunny day,
Saw horses and cows and then some hay.

A ride in the country was David's delight
He'd go any time without a fight.
I drove the car at a very slow pace
It wasn't as if we were running a race.
Driving home very slow, we laughed and we cried,
and when we got home, he just up and died.

There wasn't a struggle, there wasn't a pain,
With a smile on his face, leaning onto his cane.
Holding on to me, holding onto the door,
He just slowly went down and laid on the floor.
He didn't suffer at all, for which we give thanks,
He was anxious to go join the Heavenly ranks.

When the ambulance came, there was no sign of life.
He'd gone past the veil, leaving friend, love and wife.
We'd been a great team for thirty-four years,
So that when he left, I shed many tears.
But because of our covenants, I know that we'll be
Together forever through Eternity.

What a reunion in Heaven he must have had,
There was Marge, Lucy, Ann, and then his Dad.
To say nothing of his Mother, "Auntie Mame"
Who was known the town over for "Nephi" fame.
Now they all work together, some souls to save,
They'd all been waiting for their dear Dave.

In this very special month, David's no longer here,
He's now with our Saviour, whose birth we revere.
May this knowledge give us assurance and peace,
So that much of our mourning will certainly cease.
By God's own voice and God's own word,
Our loved ones are now in the arms of our Lord.

Written by my mom (Lois Peterson H. Salisbury)


The New Headstone...
I think it's beautiful.

But to be perfectly honest, the other side of it freaks me out a little bit... I mean, wouldn't it you?


And I SO want to change the "my" to "our"... But I guess it's already "cemented in stone"... And being joined at the hip as they were... I guess that "my" sort of makes complete sense anyway.

Oh, haha I just realized that that is a scripture quote... Ok then, well, alrighty, um, nevermind...

Seriously, Mom... David... thank you so much for this wonderful legacy! It's absolutely perfect.