To Haiti, with All Our Love

Nothing made me more proud of Avery than her desire and will to help others. She was especially insistent in her desire to help the people of Haiti. She would talk often – and to anyone who would listen – about the need to continue efforts to support the people of Haiti. She had plans to serve on mission trips in Haiti and to someday work in an orphanage in Haiti. She also tried to convince us to adopt two girls from Haiti. Which would require us to purchase bunk beds. She had it all planned.

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DCS Basketball Camp: June 10-14, 2013

Avery was so excited about the prospect of playing on the school basketball team. She talked about it. She practiced. She wondered if she would get the same uniform number that she had in volleyball (#10). Unfortunately, she would never play a single day with her team.

Avery had also begged that Matt and I coach her would-be basketball team; as if either of us knew how to coach 5th and 6th grade girls. After her passing, we knew that nothing would stop us from doing exactly that. We learned a lot – a lot about stuff on the court, but mostly about stuff of the heart. These girls meant the world to us.

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Happiness is a Good Book

Avery loved to read. She devoured library books. They meant everything to her. One of our favorite things to do was to read the same book at the same time and talk about what we thought of each section as we went along. It was our own private Mother-Daughter Book Club. I will forever treasure those moments.

Avery was in 5th Grade at Delavan Christian School at the time of her death. It just seemed fitting to pledge to donate 5 new books for the school library each year.

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