I remember after my grandma passed away, I found things of hers all around me. Letters she’d written, old birthday cards, pillows that she’d quilted. It was so nice to connect with my grandma in these discoveries.

Unfortunately, I don’t really have this with Madeline. There are reminders of her everywhere, but no cards she’d given me, or drawings, or anything like that.

I am lucky, though, that I have talented friends. In the weeks after Maddie passed, my fabulous friends Cat and Adi sent over every picture they had of Maddie. Cat and Adi are professional photographers…they took our engagement and wedding photos, and pictures of Maddie only a few weeks after we brought her home from the NICU.

Two days before Maddie got sick, the three of us were at Cat and Adi’s house for their daughter Clara’s first birthday party. They got some amazing shots of Maddie.

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My friend Dana is also amazingly talented with a camera. She emailed me today with a bunch of pictures of Maddie she discovered.

playing with Mommy's blackberry

I am a super model

loving french fries

Maddie

Getting to see our Madeline from another perspective, and seeing how she interacted with our friends and her friends, is such a precious gift. It’s as if our Maddie is still here, making new memories. I am so grateful to my friends that they turned their lenses on Madeline.

I just wish there were more pictures.