Ellie's headstone has been placed and her spot is finally complete! It took a little longer than we had originally hoped, but it turned out absolutely perfect and was well worth the wait. Designing the stone that will forever represent Ellie and her life proved to be an overwhelming task for us. After spending some time walking around the cemetery looking at headstones, I knew that I wanted a stone that when people walk past it they think, this must have been a happy, sweet, and playful little girl. I wanted something that was youthful and had a personal representation of Ellie. With the help of our talented neighbor and friend, Shauna, we were able to design the perfect stone for Ellie. I got goosebumps the first time I saw the image Shauna created for us. The hair, the nose, and the little hand reaching for bubbles...then Miles came up behind me and exclaimed, "Look! It's Ellie!" and that sealed the deal. I knew we had the perfect stone. I will never be able to express my gratitude to Shauna for this precious gift she has given us.
I am anxious to get back to Utah so I can see Ellie's new and improved spot in person, but I will probably wait until Spring when the grass is green and has nicely filled in. In the mean time, thank you to all of our family and friends who visit Ellie regularly and send me pictures and messages to tell me about their visit. It means so much to me and makes it a little bit easier being so far away from Ellie.
Update: February 24
Today our dear friends, the Rodgers, took a detour down to Orem after their doctors appointments in Salt Lake City to visit Ellie's grave. They had never even been to the cemetery before and didn't know where her spot was so they drove around for a while until Sarah felt sure it was in a certain area and got out to walk around and saw some bright bubble containers and knew that must be Ellie. They blew some bubbles and put up some pinwheels for Ellie. Thank you Sarah, Blake, Stetson, Brooklyn, and Jett! We love this family with all our hearts!!
