Leaving Emma

 We had to leave this sweet little angel behind and return to our boring 'normal' lives!  Work this morning didn't seem to have quite as much meaning as my thoughts kept returning to Emma.  Even during the long ride home yesterday, I could imagine her face as she would lay in my arms, her eyes the mirror to heaven which she left just a few days prior.  Can you tell we miss her?!  So - this will probably be the last installment of a few pictures - but many of you have asked for more!

 These pictures were taken the day she was blessed at church.  The white shawl was knitted by her great grandmother and was used by Emma's mother when she was blessed.

It was a beautiful day and both sets of her grandparents were there as were 5 of her great grandparents and several aunts and uncles.

I dreamed about this sweet face last night!

She's not being choked, just supporting her head while being burped!

Don & Korine, Amanda, Dustin & Emma, Millie & Casey

Amanda, Dustin and tired Emma!

Millie and  Casey

Family is the greatest gift that has been given to me.  Being a mother was something that I always desired, even as a young child - but being a mother is hard.  With my first child I thought it was SO HARD to have this sweet child, be home with her for several weeks, then have to return to work.  Finding the right babysitter (we went through a few before finding the right one), finding time to work and do all those things I wanted to do, being sad when I would pick her up to hear about all of the 'firsts' the babysitter had been able to  enjoy - I didn't see the firsts first, I saw them second - and that made me sad.

With child two - I was lucky enough to be a stay-at-home mom.  But I had to work really hard not to feel isolated.  We were living in a new community and suddenly I was home with two young children with no close friends to call for back up.  Did I get the blues?  Absolutely!  But I remembered often that these two miracles were something I had prayed mightily for.  Even when the dr.s told us we shouldn't be able to have children, we were blessed with two amazing angels.  As they grew and interacted more - motherhood became more fun.  There were moments - aren't there always - when I wondered if I would be a good mom.  But having my two best friends be my daughters is the bonus of this wonderful gift called family!