With Many Thanks...

I want to express my thanks to everyone who has prayed for us, or given a meal, gift, flowers, tears... It has been helping immensely. Blue and I are amazed at the compassion of others. Just yesterday we got a card from a family I met only once a few months back. They sent money and a poem that was really touching. Here is just a small sampling of things that have really helped me get through each day.
I have much gratitude for one of Blue's coworkers, Lexi, who I have never met. She's known throughout the Operating Room as the wickedly feisty one. Seriously. Surgeons groan when she walks in the room. Well, she has shown us her tender heart. She made this plaque for us with Porter Jackson's picture. She also gave us the figurine at the bottom of these pictures of the angel. It's absolutely gorgeous.
And of course the flowers and plants are such pick me ups. I love the colors and life they bring to the house. Kristy and Cortney brought over the yellow ones on the left. They are both pregnant, by the way (well, congratulations to Cortney on the birth of her girl). That was really brave and compassionate of them. The flowers on the right are also from a pregnant friend, actually - Jenny Comolli. We share all our mothering ups and downs together. Blue and I tried to do a count and we know at least 20 people that are pregnant right now. Wow. I hope that this helps them to cherish their sweet little ones more and be happy in this season of their lives.
How can I thank the kid's school for all they have done? They are like a 2nd family to us. One dear friend helped Amaris get her appetite back... she hasn't been eating lately and she has "tummy aches" a lot. It's hard to see your babies stress. And sometimes others can do what you just can't for them. two older girls (9 and 13) that Ami idolizes at school invited her over to play. When I picked her up she was chowing on a plate of food. They commented that she eats a lot - little did they know she hadn't eaten in a few days. Her joy with them took care of whatever nervous stomach she had and brought back her appetite. The family also sent her home with a huge bag of dress up clothes. Where I will store them all I don't know... But she's in heaven. The little bag and matching sunglasses on her in the picture below were in the bag.
I want to thank Shawn Haught's friend Melanie, who we don't even know, for touching up this photo for us. She took it upon herself to do it: we didn't even ask. Little did she know it was my favorite picture. I knew though, that it was a little disturbing to some because of Jackson's skin peeling. Now it only reflects the precious face I have engraved in my mind. Here is the angel from Lexi. It's with pics of the kids now, right where it belongs.

It says, "Angels are always near to those who are grieving to whisper to them that their loved ones are safe in the hands of God." I enjoyed putting it up. It gave me something positive to do. This is just a small portion of things I'm thankful for right now. Even all your comments on the blog are uplifting. We really look forward to reading them. Thank you to everyone. We love you and feel loved by you.