🌲The Pictures 🎄

This past Christmas us girls took special pictures for mom. We got the idea from Tik Tok (actually it was Lindsey’s idea). The pictures were supposed to represent those weird, funny 80s pictures that were taken in picture studios. We dressed the same, in a fun Christmas sweater, 80s jeans, and Christmas slouch socks. We definitely looked the part! It was fun laughing through the chaos of the odd poses, trying to get the best shot. We had a good time together, just like we always do.

But this time it was a little bit different.

This was the first set of pictures that mom would have with just three of her girls.

Not four.

There should have been four.

There will always be four.

But this was the first time it was captured in a picture—the reality we’ve been living since losing Lauren.

And even though we were smiling, even though we were laughing and making memories, there was a quiet weight behind it all.

Because we knew.

She knew.

This was something no mother should ever have to hold.

We made the best of it. We laughed through the awkward poses, joked about who looked silly or wasn’t smiling and made sure giving her the pictures was a fun experience.

And they are beautiful. And mom loved them. She laughed. She had fun.

But it was also bittersweet in a way only a loss can make something.

Because Lauren should be in them. She should be standing beside us, laughing with us, completing the picture the way it was always meant to be.

And even though she isn’t there physically she is still part of it~~~~woven into every smile, every memory, every piece of who we are.

This is what love looks like after loss.

Still showing up. Still finding joy, even while carrying what is missing.

Mom, we hope those pictures still feel full to you. Because Lauren’s love didn’t leave~~it just looks different now. ❤️