Steven

We visited Steven yesterday. It was blazing hot when we got there in the late afternoon, but some clouds drifted over as we left the car, providing us with shade and a cool breeze while we sat with Hannah and her brother. Hannah is not normally one to sit still, but she sat quietly and took in the rustling trees and thick green grass, while she waited for us.

The most painful thing about visiting Steven is the long row of other tiny graves in that section of the park, some with only one date on the marker, and some with dates a year apart. Those are the ones that make me treasure Hannah the most, and ache for the parents that had to part with their children after getting to know them for a year. Steven, barely a week old, had not yet opened his eyes or made a sound when he was taken from us. But even so, his passing was unbearable.

Cat and Jon, knowing we needed a distraction from this unhappiest of anniversaries, invited us over for pizza and a movie last night, so we went straight there from the park. There aren't many things I enjoy more than sharing Hannah with others and watching her interact with them, so that was a good way to end the day on a high note.

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In other news . . . Sidney and Sandia just got back from out of town and gave us a CD of photos they took at the birthday party. It was hard to pick out just a few to post here, but here they are: