Celebrating roots

We visited my great grandmother's grave this week. I took my 5 youngest and my husband. We had a picnic at her grave. We lit the chalice and other candles that hold meaning for me. We collected a flower and herb bundle to place on the grave. A few flowers from the butterfly bush from our yard made it into the small bouquet.  Butterflies came and landed on them. Elaina got a good look. We collected some soil from our yard. Eliot sprinkled it onto Ines' s grave and then collected a little of the soil from the grave back into the glass vial to come home with us. The kids played and ran in the field next to the grave yard. They each collected a stick to be burned at home. We then took a back road to find Graben Rd. and found an earlier graveyard of the first Grabens to come to America.  That was surreal. To see Mary Graben, the Mother of the Grabens in America made me feel so connected to my past. I am eager to learn more.