There is a family in our ward that is very special to us, the Pew family. They are a little farther along in life than we are-their kids are mostly grown and gone-but for some reason we have a special attachment to them.

In church we tend to sit in the same area every Sunday. David and Laura Pew usually sat either with us or near us. Garrett loved Laura. He would find her and sit on her lap and have her read stories to him (he did that to several "grandma's" in our ward, but Sister Pew was something special.) Laura would often comment that Garrett reminded her of one of her boys when he was young.

(Side note: Garrett was such a friendly guy. He wasn't afraid to meet new people. At church he was the self appointed "greeter" and loved to stand at the door and shake everyone's hand. He was sad when people overlooked him and didn't shake his hand and thrilled when kids and adults would shake his hand and let him say hello...but I digress)

When Garrett died, it was really hard on Sister Pew. He was a special little guy to her. Recently Sister Pew lost her mother as well. We've become friends through sharing tears and hugs and stories.

A couple weeks ago she came to me and asked if she could borrow a family portrait. I was happy to loan one and she returned this week with these:


They are so beautiful! Her dad (who lost his wife) loves to do woodwork and wanted to do something for us. He enlarged the photos, mounted them and cut them out. He spent extra time on one just of Garrett.

Laura loved this picture. She said it seemed to capture his personality so well; the shirt not quite tucked in, the collar sticking up, his impish grin and most of all the cheerful glint in his eye.

We are so blessed with good friends who think about us! Thank you.

Dallin had a tough week. On Wednesday he came home from school without going to his Science club. I knew something had to be wrong-he LOVES Science club. When I asked about it, he said "I just don't feel like doing anything today mom. I am just sad." We talked more about what he was sad about and he couldn't really put his finger on exactly what was bothering him. He was just sad and didn't want to do anything or play with anyone. He just wanted to be home.

I can identify. Some days I'm just sad. I can't explain why, I just get sad. They are fewer and farther between than what they use to be, but some days I just don't want to go anywhere or do anything. I just want to be home and hide.

So, Dallin and I sat on the couch and watched television for a while until Maura bugged us too much and we went for a bicycle ride.

Some days you just have to be sad.

Tonight we went for a walk. It's a good Sunday activity that gets us out of the house along with our crazy dog and lets us all burn a little energy. We walked to the school (a couple of blocks away) then let the kids and the dogs run. We met up with a lot of friends and it was a lot of fun.

As it was getting dark, I called to Dallin and Adam and said it was time to head home. Then I started looking for Garrett. It was such a weird feeling. I was rounding up the kids and one was missing so I was scanning the playground before I remembered. Every once in a while getting a reality check is a little abrupt.

After we got home and were eating dinner, Dallin was talking about how much he misses Garrett. I'm glad he talks about Garrett often. Tonight he said he thinks we need to have a Garrett party. He suggests that on May 1st we have a party and invite our friends to play and remember Garrett.

It's a sweet idea. Dallin is a really thoughtful kid. I'm not sure I can do it, we'll see.