Dressed in White for Ivy

It was a unique experience to be together with so much family.  A lot of people traveled far and wide to show their love and support to Nicole and Corey at this hard time. 

The Ernst family was able to get a burial plot for Ivy right across the street from their house.  So Ivy will be as close as possible to them and they can visit the site as often as they want.  Nicole will be able to wash the dishes and watch over her daughter at the same time.  Such a tender mercy to have her so close.  

The ward also lined the street with pink ribbons for the Ernst family, stocked a freezer full of meals, and donated a bench by the grave site for the family to sit on.

An Etsy provider, donated Ivy leaf rings as a gift to all the girls. 

Ivy Rae Ernst

Ivy Rae Ernst, 2, of American Fork, passed away July 5, 2018 in Hermiston, Oregon. Born May 28, 2016 in American Fork, Utah the daughter of Corey and Nicole Ernst. In her short, beautiful life, she touched so many lives by sitting on laps of family, friends, and total strangers. Her siblings constantly fought over her. She had a special place for animals in her heart, frequently assuming control of the leash from dog walkers. She is a gift that was appreciated every day of her short life and will never be forgotten. She leaves behind parents Corey and Nicole; siblings Easton; Sage; Lacey; Remy; and a very large extended family who loved her and will miss her very much.

A viewing will be held Monday, July 9, from 6 to 8 pm at the Anderson & Sons Mortuary, 49 East 100 North Am. Fork. Funeral services will be held Tuesday July 10, 2018 at 11:00 am in the American Fork 8th Ward, 300 North 100 East, prior to the funeral there will be a viewing from 9:45 to 10:45am.  Burial in the American Fork cemetery.

We invite anyone who would like to wear white to the funeral to honor our perfect angel baby.

Dressing Ivy

It was a privilege for Laura to be asked to join Nicole and this sweet group of ladies to dress the  body of Ivy.  Before we entered the room where Ivy's body laid, Nicole shared with us that she had been seeking guidance and comfort from the spirit.  She was reading in the scriptures about when Mary and Martha went to the tomb to prepare the body of Jesus.  We were a group of women that were gathered to go and prepare Ivy's body for its final nap until the resurrection.  It was such a sweet experience to be in that room.  Little Ivy looked so at peace.  She just looked like she was sleeping and would wake up any minute.  Her perfect little body - felt so alive and yet there was no spirit in it.  Little Marshall, 4 months old,  put his little hand on Ivy and kept it there. He also would look around the room and stop and stare at a picture of Christ.  We knew the veil was thin and that this was a special sacred time.  Nicole fixed Ivy's hair to look the way she always had it and we painted her toes with the same polish we had used for Grandma's body back in January when she passed away.  Grandma Marian Smith and Ivy had a special connection.  They would sit for hours, laughing, talking, and entertaining each other.  They loved each other.  This morning, Papa Stan Smith (Marian's son), was sitting quietly in the basement when he heard his mother's voice.  It was so audible and recognizable it surprised Papa.  Grandma said, "Don't worry.  I have her."  We know that Grandma and Ivy are back together again and waiting for us.

Iv

Losing Ivy

Ivy, Corey & Nicole's 2 year old girl,  had an accident at a pool in Hendersen, OR (about 30 minutes away) and was getting rushed to the hospital.  It didn't look good and they needed us there as soon as possible.

Laura and Becky headed down immediately.  Julie followed soon afterwards.  As soon as we arrived at Darren and Emily's home, Mom and Dad told us Ivy was gone.  She didn't make it- she passed away at the hospital.  We were overcome.  Emily then told us what had happened.  The kids had all been playing in the house while the adults were in the backyard doing yoga.  Ivy got outside and into the pool without anyone's knowledge.  They had a heat cover on the pool but one side was pulled off, leaving a corner exposed.  She had fallen into the pool and drowned.  After her absence was noted, everyone started searching for her.  Darren found her, pulled her out of the pool and started CPR until the ambulance showed up.  At the hospital they worked for 45 minutes trying to revive her, but were unsuccessful.  This beautiful little angel had returned to her Heavenly Father.

We were shocked.  We sat on the couch and cried with the kids.  We held them and comforted them the best we could.  The kids were sad and worried about their parents.  They were scared that their Mom and Dad would never be happy again.  Remy, Nicole and Corey's 6 year old daughter, said that she  wanted to write a message to Ivy on a balloon and send it to heaven.   We thought that was an excellent idea.  So Becky, Easton,  and Laura went to the dollar store and got a bouquet of pink balloons and sharpies.  We each wrote little notes and messages  to Ivy and then went to the park across the street and sent them to heaven to Ivy.

It was truly a day of mourning.  This perfect little girl had gone home and our hearts ache in her absence.  We cried, hugged, and fought the feelings of shock and disbelief that this was really happening.  

The BOYS favorite day of the year

The 4th of July comes every year!!!  And the boys love it -just look at those smiles!  They really wanted to blow stuff up and set off their own fireworks... since there is a firework ban in the Spokane/Liberty Lake area, we took a last minute trip down to Tri-Cities (where there is no firework ban) and had a party!   (Papa and Nana's neighbor wasn't too happy with our presence...but oh well...)      Fun, Fireworks and family....doesn't get much better than that!

We forgot our lego man which was to become our sacrificial lego man.  It has become tradition... where the boys try and blow up a lego man all night - and see how successful they are. Luckily, (or unlucky if you are their lego man) Becky and Brayden provided a  lego man for the job!!   This year we lost him on one of the aerial shots, but Papa found it about a week later - (still intact) when he was mowing his lawn!!!

Lake Pend Oreille

We had a lovely day exploring a local lake that is up North near Silverwood.  It is used for submarine training because it is so deep!  It was a chilly day, but that didn't stop us from exploring the lake, the museum, and the trails near by.  The kids kept asking to get into the water...they must not be able to feel cold...goodness.  Luckily we made it back to the car just in time for it to start pouring down rain!  Later we found out that the name of this lake is French and it is pronounced "Ponderay" but that was only after we were pronouncing it wrong all day long!  Haha. oh well...I'm sure some people got a good laugh at our ignorance!

Visiting Dietrich

It was odd visiting Dietrich without Mom and Dad there (they are in Fiji on a Church Self Reliance Mission)...   All the kids pulled together and made a plan.  We all got together at the house, had a nice dinner together where we sat, chat, ate, and had a great time being together.  It was too short, but glad we got to see everyone!