Comforted

This week has been better than last week. We are doing good most of the time, but we still have our moments. We have appreciated so much the love and support we have continued to feel. Aubree loves getting the mail and seeing what we get. People have been so kind and wonderful to us. The cards, flowers, calls, letters, emails, prayers, and packages have meant so much.

This girl is amazing. She just turned 5 and acts like she is a teenager. Eric and I have been approached by three different people from the primary in our ward at church who wanted to tell us how much of an angel Aubree is. Travis started Sunbeams this year and is sometimes sad about not being able to go to nursery to play with the toys. They said that whenever Travis is sad, she goes over to him, hugs him, and rubs his hair. And when Tanner gets a little rambunctious, she calms him down. Aubree knows more about the spirit world and the importance in the temple than I knew when I started college.

Aubree loved taking care of Andrew. She took care of so many of his needs. When he would climb up the stairs, she would put him on her lap and slide down the stairs with him. Whenever she is around kids Andrew's age, she tries to carry them around and baby them just like she would Andrew.

A lot of these pictures are from before Christmas break I haven't wanted to start doing normal posts again. Travis found the halloween paints and painted his face to look like a tiger.

Eric's mom made the kids scrubs for their birthdays. It is cute to hear the kids say they are dentists, not doctors.

Eric's mom is an amazing seamstress. She made Aubs and her cousin, Maycie, matching Christmas dresses.

Trav found a gingerbread apron and hat that belonged to Grandma Nygard, and he wanted to try it on. He is so cute and fun.

This picture of Aubree was the night of her birthday (the last picture I have before Andrew died). We were giving her presents. This was just after we put Andrew to bed.

Christmas had a lot different spirit this year. It was a lot easier to focus on what Christmas is really about. Our Christmases will forever be changed, with a more meaningful focus.

We planned on having a family birthday party for Aubs the day after we got there. She was really missing Andrew and having a tough time understanding things. She just wanted to sit on Eric's lap and ask questions about Andrew and our family.

Instead of having her go to the table to blow out her candles, we brought the cake to her. She just buried her face in Eric's chest, as we sang to her, and when we finished singing, she looked at Eric and with a quivering lip said, "Dad, it doesn't seem fair. Why do I get to have my fifth birthday party right now, but Andrew only got one birthday? I don't want to have my birthday party right now." She is a special girl; we love our Aubree!

We celebrated Christmas with Eric and my families all together. My family has a tradition of acting out the Christmas story.

The first weekend of December some friends from Pullman, who are starting a photography business, took some family pictures for us.

Eric is so wonderful. He has been such a strength and example to me. He is the perfect shoulder to cry on and knows exactly what to say to help me. He is the best!

Tanner is growing up too fast. He likes to tell people that is 14 instead of 4. Tanner would always try to get Andrew to come into his room to play with him. They could play for a long time, just the two of them. Andrew would climb on Tanner's bed and then Tanner would bounce him and make him giggle. They both would come out with red cheeks from playing so hard. Tanner was so good at making Andrew laugh.

Travis would ask where Andrew was for the first week after he passed away, but now he just tells us he is in Heaven with Heavenly Father. Then he says "I miss my buddy boy." Andrew would always pull Travis' hair, so sometimes still, Travis will be crying for some reason and say, "Andrew pulled my hair." Andrew sure is missed.

Classic Trav

I love this picture of Eric and his boys. Eric is such a great dad!

We've been trying to keep the kids busy. We have been doing extra crafts, decorating cookies, and painting. Aubree, especially seems to do better that way.

I have grown such a new appreciation for the Atonement and our Savior. The amount of comfort that we have been blessed with has been amazing. The hardest part for me now, is that I am forgetting details about Andrew, and I miss him. It has been such a blessing to have as many pictures of Andrew as we have of him. I really don't want the kids to forget him. We watch a DVD of him at least once a day.

Jared turned 4 months old this last week. He weighs just over 14lbs and is so much fun. He is laughing and "talking" all of the time.

My friend is teaching me photography, so I have been practicing shooting in manual. It is talent that I want to get good at.

MEMORY: I loved it when Andrew would wake up from his nap and we would hear him bang his binky's against the wall. It would and still does bring a smile to our faces.