Speaking of the Millenium . . .

` I couldn't help it. We have her Halloween lion costume still, and the stuffed lambs . . . It had to be done:

A month after Ty passed away, we received the stuffed lamb in the mail, along with a beautiful hand-made quilt, a book, and a detailed letter. The couple who sent us these items were friends of Jamie's, and although they did not even live in Utah, they reached out to help comfort us. Steve and Crystal shared their story with us of how they lost their 5-month-old boy to SIDS, as well as touched us with their testimony. They also told us how, in the hospital after their son had passed, they were given a lamb with the following scripture around its neck:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul:

he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley  of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:

for thou art with me; they rod and they staff they comfort me.

~Psalm 23:1-4

That lamb slept in bed with us for a time, and I fell asleep holding it on nights when Dan was away. It has stayed in our room on our dresser, next to a picture of Ty, and also wears Ty's teething rings around its front legs. Now, that sweet, symbolic lamb watches over Aiyana in her nursery. I will always be grateful to Steve and Crystal (as well as so many others in our life) for reaching out to strangers who desperately needed that comfort and hope. They promised that the pain would subside, even if we couldn't imagine that ever happening. I'm grateful to see how far we've come, and that their promise holds true.

As for the other cute girly lamb, Pawnee bought that one for Aiyana. It was a little bit by accident that she picked out the lamb for her. Pawnee was at Build-A-Bear, picking out stuffed animals for all the nieces and nephews, and when she saw that lamb in the display window she knew it was meant for Aiyana, though she did not even remember that we had that other lamb for Ty. So now they sit next to each other, and whenever Aiyana plays with them on the floor, it makes me smile. . .