OJY to the world

Our second Christmas without Audrey has been a tough one.  There's been some not so great moments.  Its been difficult to see the joy of the season.  One of the things that got us at least this far has been our friends and family remembering Audrey this Christmas.  

Before Audrey was born, my mom and sister were trying to bribe Hannah to find out what her soon to be born baby sister's name was.  They were offering her candy and toys to see if she would spill the beans.  Gradually, Hannah kept slipping more and more information.  Problem was, at two years old, she didn't have the articulation she has now.  By the end of the bribe fest/ interrogation, all my mom and sister could interpret was Hannah's new sister's name was "OJY."

Fast forward to last year.  Hannah took the JOY at my parent's house and turned it into OJY.
Coming home to my childhood home, it was very comforting to see that OJY is still remembered.  When I walked in the door, I saw the Audrey desk (Audrey used to always stim at it) decorated with Audrey Angel, her memorial stones, a plushy who shares the same birthday as Audrey, and other Audrey memorabilia.  It is hard to walk in my parent's house without seeing Audrey somewhere. 
It wasn't just tonight.  It was all season long.  Audrey's memorial plaque at the Superhero Center was decorated by her friends and loved ones.
All of Audrey's family did things to bring Audrey to Christmas.  We usually always try to find a way to incorporate Audrey into celebrations.  On Christmas Eve, we had some detours to make it to the family celebration.  When we made it there, we were so touched that Audrey had a placemat signed by all her family at the table.  Mandy, Hannah and I loved this.
Also, during break, we received a few digital images from Audrey's good friend's parents.  It is warming to know others are thinking about Audrey during the holidays.
Mandy got me a beautiful sweatshirt of an image of Audrey on my shoulders at the Disney parade.  My sister made some beautiful resin art of Audrey.  Our family and friends have been very supportive.

The holidays have been so hard this year.  Our JOY has definitely seemed scrambled.  But the holiday light gets a little brighter when JOY is scrambled into OJY.
 

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