A week later

Thanks for continued prayers, calls, texts, emails, visits, meals, etc.  (A little overwhelmed with our inability to keep up with thank you's).  We have felt your collective support.  Back to work for me this week; great to see people from work, challenging to be away from home.

We have now had more than twice as many days without Avery as we had with her.  Yet, her absence remains palpable to us. We are grateful everyday and emotional most days.  In the last 24 hours, I am so grateful to have met for the first time three beatiful baby girls of friends, all of whom are NICU graduates!  Thank God for these kids.

Thanks to Steve Walters this week for pointing out that "Grieving is hard work." For someone prone to just putting my nose down and plowing through, I appreciate the wisdom of making sure I don't run from the process.

Some pictures:
1. An awesome picture of wide-eyed Avery being held by Em after receiving an edible arrangement from friends Steven and Aubrey. Avery is so beautiful; it makes me miss her terribly.

2. Em, Liv and I made cookies (with pre-cut cookies from Shannon Gower) this week to take neighbors. I used it as an opportunity to tell them about Avery's passing.  You be the judge: more sprinkles on the cookies or on the sheet?  Either way, I wasn't going to eat them. (We made some for ourselves later.)

3. Thanks to Shae Dalke and family for bringing rotisserie chicken.  We all enjoyed it, but Emily in particular LOVED it.  So much so in fact that she ate every last bit of her chicken leg that was edible...and then some parts that aren't really edible. It was actually a little gross to watch (and hear).