The flower at the top of the page...

When Amelia died we were blessed with an outpouring of cards, flowers, plants, food, and visits from friends and family. A dear couple, who we were friends with in Garden City, Kansas, sent us this beautiful mini rose bush. This was one of the many blooms that adorned it this summer on our patio. All of the blooms were various shades of pink, and it did fairly well despite my lack of a green thumb.  We were very grateful for all of the gifts, whether they were cards, notes, plants, food, or calls/visits. However, after the shock of the first few days were beginning to wear off, P and I sat in the living room, the boys playing quietly somewhere (miracle) and there we sat amongst this small rainforest of bouquets, blooms, plants, pots, and ribbon. I said, "I would give anything to not have any of these here, and have a little baby instead." P looks at me, both of our eyes puffy from the whirlwind of emotions and exhaustion of the past week. He said, "For you, a baby would have been easier to take care of."  I needed a chuckle, we both did.