A Welcomed Distraction

My oldest brother and his wife and kids currently live in Minnesota so we don't get to see them nearly often enough.  As soon as Eli passed away, their entire family bought plane tickets to Utah.  It was so good to have them around during such an emotional time.  Unfortunately my brother had to go back to work after a week but his wife and their boys were able to stay for a second week.

How cute are they?!

Love them!

My brother and his wife had the opportunity to come out and meet Eli on separate occasions after he was born but unfortunately their kids weren't able to.  When they heard Eli had passed away they were heartbroken that they never had the chance to meet their cousin but instantly displayed the perfect faith of children when they said: "It's okay that we didn't get to meet Eli because he will always be in our hearts and we will see him again."  I strive to have that kind of faith on a daily basis!  It was definitely a welcomed distraction having them here!  Can't wait to see you guys again in a couple months!

For the past two and a half weeks, Logan and I have tried to do our best to allow ourselves time to grieve while at the same time attempt to put a regular routine in place again so we can feel somewhat normal.  Some days are much better than others and although we've never been through this before, we assume it will take a long time to heal but we continue to feel an overwhelming amount of peace that genuinely feels tangible.  We know the countless number of prayers offered on our behalf are the primary reason for the strength we feel and we are so grateful for each and every one of them.

Logan and I still aren't working full time but have started doing a little bit of work here and there to keep us busy.  Thankfully we also have amazing friends and families that have kept us entertained when we needed a distraction and willingly given us our space when we wanted time alone.  We feel so blessed to have never had a lack of support through this entire journey.

Logan will go back to school in the fall but until then we have a couple vacations to look forward to and are taking advantage of this warm weather as much as possible!  As we ran several errands the other day Logan talked me into going to Scheels for the first time.  Too many dollars later we finally found our car but definitely had a lot of fun!

My favorite Eli memory right now: How much he despised being swaddled from day 1!  I insisted at the beginning and would constantly find him like this a few minutes later:

He somehow eventually found his way out of his blankets AND whatever he was wearing!

Thank you, thank you for the many memories, little buddy!  Love and miss you like crazy!