Ami

Nearly three years ago, my sister moved to Houston to be near us. She had just finished her doctorate in Psychology and she came to town in search of a job. She lived with us for 5 months and then she moved to a nearby apartment, and then she moved closer to her job, and this past week, she quit her job, got married, and moved to Seattle. We had such a great time having her here, but we know it was time for her to go. We shared some fabulous times and some really hard times, but through it all, we were here for each other. We are still here for each other, but only in heart and mind. I just thought I would share some memories of Ami (Aunt Mireille):

Here she is leaving for her first day of work as a psychologist.

She did a lot of hanging out with Baby Travis:

One huge benefit for me was that when Mireille arrived, we gained a photographer! That meant I finally was able to appear in some pictures with my sweet boy. This was the first time Travis got sick and Mireille decided that it needed to be photographed. He sure looks pitiful, doesn't he?

She helped to decorate the Christmas tree, or rather, she wrestled with Travis while RANDY worked on the tree.

She was here for Justin's birth too. Labor was during the night, so I called to warn her that it would probably be sometime during the night that we would need her. She didn't sleep a wink until we called her back at 3 am and she was at our house in record time. She was on babysitting duty, but my mom had on a whim decided to catch the red eye flight to Houston and she relieved Mireille in time to get to the birth center. She helped our doula and she was a great backup when Randy was otherwise occupied.

She served as a pillow for our children:

She was around for Justin's surgery and served as a safe haven in the aftermath of Ike:

She walked in the Buddy Walk with us:

She helped teach Justin how to eat.

She was here for so many holidays, birthday parties, movie nights, and just good times. She taught Travis how to crawl, and we told her she had to do the same for Justin and she couldn't leave until she finished her job, but she left anyway. We haven't even fully felt the reality of our Mireille-less life, but already it's sad.