This is my beautiful sister April with her daughter olivia. She had this picture taken for her husband Greg for Father's Day about a year before she died. It is one of my favorite pictures. Since so many of you missed out on the last year of April's life, I want to share with you a little of what she was like and what she did.
This is her little family. Greg, April and Olivia. She was so excited to get this family picture.
April with Enoch. They were very good friends. He thought she was the greatest relative a boy could have.
Another one of my favorites. She was the happiest mother I have ever met and this picture shows the excitement she felt as a mother I think. From the time she was 3 it was her main objective in life. She never really wanted much more than that.
She was as happy to be married to Greg as she was to be a mother.
Orem Summer Fest. It happens in june every year and I think this was the year she entered Olivia in the baby contest. She was so cute. They were waiting for the fireworks here.
April spent a lot of time working on Olivia's room. She wanted to have it perfect. She spent a lot of time on ebay trying to buy this crib set at an affordable price and the three items above the crib she bought in raw wood and painted. Butterfly, sun and ladybug.
The framed picture and poem on the left was done by our yonger sister Dorothy. The others were aranged by April.
Olivia's 1st birthday. My mom made the sweater Olivia is wearing and all three of them loved it. It made April so happy when she would wear it.
April worked so hard on this birthday party. She loved birthdays and it was her goal to always make birthdays special for her family. One of her favorite childhood memories was how my mom always made birthdays special and she wanted to continue the tradition. She and Greg had a huge fiesta at Greg's parents house. There were almost 50 people there. They had an amazing spread of food, a mariachi band, and a pinata that was around 4-5 feet tall. She gave her a birthday to last a lifetime. I am so glad she did. Sept. 2006
April and Greg took Enoch with them to Thanks Giving Point's "Cornbelly's" October 2006
April, Greg, and Olivia at our/and their church building winter 2006. They were so cute.
Christmas 2006 at Greg's parents house. April loved family pictures. We are so thankful she did or we wouldn't have so many pictures of her now.
Here are some pictures of April and Greg's house while they were building it. The only pictures I have of the lot after the house was gone are at the end of this post at the "April Run for Olivia".
April and Greg worked so hard on this house. They were going to do a lot of the work by themselves with the help of some family. Greg's brother's company put in the wood floors.
This second floor was unfinished.
So was the basement. At the top of these stairs was the last place she was seen. By her neighbor and friend Kris.
Anderson children and April's siblings: Neil Anderson, David Anderson, Ashley Fry (me), Amber Stecher, Camilla Anderson. The order of siblings is this: Amber, Ashley, April (obviously not pictured), David, Dorothy (not pictured), Camilla and Neil. Dorothy was able to come back for the funeral for about one month, but had to return to Belgium to finish her responsibilities as caretaker/tutor of multiple children in multiple families. This was extremely difficult for her to do, but she is a strong girl. We missed her greatly at this event.
This second floor was unfinished.
So was the basement. At the top of these stairs was the last place she was seen. By her neighbor and friend Kris.
This is the "April Run For Oliva". It was put on by the people of Saratoga springs. They did a magnificent job. It could not have been more perfect. There were about 1000+ people who registered for the race. I am not sure about how many showed up but it was a huge turn out. In our new place here we only have room for one computer--Garretts. My best pictures of the race are on my computer and I don't have access to them. I will try to get them and post them later.
The two women at the microphone were the two main people who made it all happen. Amber Foster and Stacey Dougher. Without their amazing hard work the "April Run for Olivia" would never have happened. We are so very thankful for their hard work and sacrifice.
All of the people in Green are volunteers and the rest of us are family. Roper's and Anderson's.
Left to Right: Kris Ewert (April's great friend out in Saratoga Springs), Amber Stecher (my older sister), Lengel Anderson (my mother).
Anderson children and April's siblings: Neil Anderson, David Anderson, Ashley Fry (me), Amber Stecher, Camilla Anderson. The order of siblings is this: Amber, Ashley, April (obviously not pictured), David, Dorothy (not pictured), Camilla and Neil. Dorothy was able to come back for the funeral for about one month, but had to return to Belgium to finish her responsibilities as caretaker/tutor of multiple children in multiple families. This was extremely difficult for her to do, but she is a strong girl. We missed her greatly at this event.
So many wonderful friends and family members came to volunteer and/or participate in the run. Garrett's brother Matthew (green shirt) was up bright and early to help out. This meant a lot since it was a huge sacrifice for him to be there at that time. I don't have pictures but Garrett's mom Edwina was there early too, and his brother Aaron came with his wife Lacey, son Nathan, and brother-in-law Ryan, who is practically a Fry anyway.
Here is Greg (April's husband and my brother-in-law) and little Olivia (April's daughter and my niece). Olivia was the star of that day. All of this was for her. The money earned from the run went into a trust for her education. I say all of this was for her, and it was, but it was a source of healing for all of the rest of us, so in a way it was for us too. I just kept thinking--April would be so happy. This is for her. She would have wanted to be a part of it, and she probably was.
Greg, Olivia and my brother David walking the trail. Hard to run with kids. Hard to run without kids for that matter.
My mom and dad looked great that day and did a wonderful job speaking to all the participants. It was a touching moment for all of us siblings as we stood listening. The tears and the gratitude flowed simultaneously.
At the end of the race each participant was given a flower to take to the cite where the house used to be, and where April died. The flowers were put in the fence and each person took a moment to reflect on what had happened. For most of those 1,000 + participants she was just a face on the news and in the papers, but they all seemed to feel her death deeply as they looked at the fragments that remained. It was truly touching.
Greg showing Amber the foundation and the lot. This was the first time Amber had seen of the destruction. She was in New Jersey the night it happened. She was here for the funeral but she hadn't seen the lot. She never got to see April's little dream home either. It had only been finished for a few weeks.
We miss April so much everyday. She and I did everything together from cooking to cleaning to sewing and canning. The boys and I saw or talked to April and Olivia almost every day. Enoch had a very special relationship with April and he asked for her daily at first. Now he and Ezra kiss her picture and talk about her and although Enoch knows that she is with Heavenly Father he still sometimes expects to see her. Maybe that is because he has seen her since. The other day Garrett was telling him how if he stopped drinking water so he wouldn't have to go to the bathroom anymore then he would die. Enoch said: "But then I could be with April"
Amber left her family in New Jersey and surprised my mom by flying out for the run. Only baby Alena got to come with her. Some of Amber's friends met her there and ran with her. Amber remind me what her name is-Kirsten?
Here is Greg (April's husband and my brother-in-law) and little Olivia (April's daughter and my niece). Olivia was the star of that day. All of this was for her. The money earned from the run went into a trust for her education. I say all of this was for her, and it was, but it was a source of healing for all of the rest of us, so in a way it was for us too. I just kept thinking--April would be so happy. This is for her. She would have wanted to be a part of it, and she probably was.
Greg, Olivia and my brother David walking the trail. Hard to run with kids. Hard to run without kids for that matter.
My mom and dad looked great that day and did a wonderful job speaking to all the participants. It was a touching moment for all of us siblings as we stood listening. The tears and the gratitude flowed simultaneously.
My little Enoch playing with Greg's nephew Luke. They really enjoy each other. Two of April's many favorite little ones.
At the end of the race some family and friends stayed to comb through the rubble that was all Greg had left of his home and the things inside it. We found some of April's little things to take as memento and it was fun to see her things and talk about each shoe or lipstick or pair of jeans. There were some of her dishes still intact inside the dishwasher, but the clothes in the washer and dryer were destroyed along with everything else.
At the end of the race each participant was given a flower to take to the cite where the house used to be, and where April died. The flowers were put in the fence and each person took a moment to reflect on what had happened. For most of those 1,000 + participants she was just a face on the news and in the papers, but they all seemed to feel her death deeply as they looked at the fragments that remained. It was truly touching.
Greg showing Amber the foundation and the lot. This was the first time Amber had seen of the destruction. She was in New Jersey the night it happened. She was here for the funeral but she hadn't seen the lot. She never got to see April's little dream home either. It had only been finished for a few weeks.
We miss April so much everyday. She and I did everything together from cooking to cleaning to sewing and canning. The boys and I saw or talked to April and Olivia almost every day. Enoch had a very special relationship with April and he asked for her daily at first. Now he and Ezra kiss her picture and talk about her and although Enoch knows that she is with Heavenly Father he still sometimes expects to see her. Maybe that is because he has seen her since. The other day Garrett was telling him how if he stopped drinking water so he wouldn't have to go to the bathroom anymore then he would die. Enoch said: "But then I could be with April" 
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