Remembering Sheri (by Rita)

Brent's little sister Sheri was 15 when Brent and I got married. She attended BYU Hawaii and served an LDS mission. Shortly after she married Eric, they moved to Lolo, Montana. Because our earthly acquaintance was relatively short, "remembering" Sheri feels more like recalling the feeling of her presence and loving her through the stories of Brent's family. Sheri would have been 34 years old on Sunday. She passed away last August while giving birth to her second child. Yesterday we gathered to remember the blessing of her in our lives and to celebrate the selfless gift of her two daughters. We started at the cemetery where we left notes, flowers and pictures at Sheri's grave site. We tied some messages to helium-filled balloons and the kids released them. We ate dinner and birthday cake at Brent's parents' home and finished by watching home videos of Sheri as a young girl. Sheri's death causes me to think often of the things I know and believe. It is hard to reconcile how faith changes when it is tested in reality. Now the things that I know feel so small compared to those I don't and I think that was probably the same for Sheri. Sheri knew that Eric was the right guy for her...that he was cute, funny, kind and good. She didn’t know what an incredible parent he would be with or without her. Sheri knew that she wanted to be a mother. Even when it was hard and tiring, she was grateful for the experience. She didn’t know that her time as a mom would be so short. Sheri knew that having children would require hard work and sacrifice. She didn’t know that she would have to literally forfeit her life for her daughters. I know that our families can be together again after this life. I don’t know why learning and really understanding the importance of this comforting knowledge can hurt so much sometimes. I love you, Sheri.

Remembering Sheri

Last Sunday, March 21st, was Sheri's 34th birthday. We gathered together to remember her and to celebrate her life. We wrote her messages and sent them into the sky in some balloons. Afterward we had dinner and sang her Happy Birthday. We ate lots of cake and ice cream and watched some home videos.

We love and miss you Sheri!

Back to Montana

After living with us for six months, Ava and Abbey and Eric have returned to their home in Montana. Here are some of the things that we will miss about them:

We will miss seeing Ava smile, watching her play with her toes, speculating on whether her hair will turn dark, wrapping her tight in the blanket when we wanted her to sleep (we called it "papoosing" her), wondering how she managed to loosen her blanket when she wanted to get up (we called that "Houdini-ing"), feeding her carrots (ugh!) and pears (yum!), trying to find clothes that weren't too small or too big for her, commenting on how much she looked like Eric (and sometimes Sheri), and kissing her chubby cheeks.

We will miss reading books to Abbey every morning before breakfast, making her favorite meal (peanut butter on a slice of bread cut in four squares), watching her play with her "babies," seeing her hug her cousin Grace, hearing her laugh with her cousin Gabe, admiring her pictures and drawings, and giving her a great big hug.

We will miss tempting Eric to eat desserts, smelling the wonderful aroma of his nightly "popcorn diet," having him be Scott's running partner, wondering why he would be willing to "hang out" with his in-laws, learning to love him like our own son, listening to him play games with Abbey, and watching him love and care for his two little girls.   

Yes, we will miss them---so we've already planned a trip to Montana.

Ava is 6 months old!

Ava is now 6 months old. She weighs 17 lbs. and is 25 and 3/4 inches long. At her 6 month checkup she finished all of her initial immunizations. She has begun to eat solid food and LOVES pears. She has a wonderful smile and laughs out loud. Isn't she a cutie!

Abbey's "Babies"

Abbey loves to play with all of her "babies" and she is a wonderful mother to them. One day she said, "Mr. Hippo is being fussy today. He didn't get enough sleep." Another time she said, "Rabbit isn't being nice today. He won't share his toys. He needs to go to time out."

Here is a picture of Abbey with all of her "babies," including Snow White, Mr. Hippo, Dora, Jaguar, Elmo, Cookie Monster, Rabbit, Sponge Bob, Kitty, Monkey, and many others:

Abbey's Drawings

Even as a baby, Abbey loved to draw: Here are two of her latest drawings. This one shows that Abbey likes to draw faces: In this one, you can see that Abbey is learning to write her name: Keep it up, Abbey!

Valentine Recap

Abbey and Ava spent Valentine's Day at Aunt Andrea's house.  We celebrated by painting, eating pink donuts, and eating a heart shaped pizza.

At dinner we went around and said what we loved about each other. Andrea mentioned how she loved how happy Abbey is and how cute her voice is. When we were done, Abbey said that we forgot to mention what we loved about Eric. So Abbey said she loves that her daddy plays games with her.

We opened our valentines from each other and had a fun time together.

Beverly and Ava

Beverly plays the piano every morning, with the challenge of entertaining Ava during piano time. Here Beverly set up Ava facing her teddy bear. It worked, although Ava was more curious about my picture taking than about her teddy:

Here's a closeup of the same picture:

Beverly also is trying to teach Ava how to sit up on her own. Sometimes it works for a few moments:

I think Beverly and Ava are two pretty cute girls.