When I got up this morning and walked down the stairs, Luke was sitting on the couch in the living room. I smiled at him and he said "You're the prettiest mom ever".

Luke learned that from his father.

Joe often said nice things to me in front of the kids and they heard what he said and saw how he treated me. It's a gift that lives on through his children.

This afternoon Luke came to me and said "you're the best mom in the world" (something my kids will say to me every now and then), but then he went on to say "I am lucky to have you".

Luke learned that from me.

We talk a lot about Joe and how it is an awful, terrible thing that happened to our family. But I always end the conversation by naming specific things and people that we are lucky to have in our lives, and there are a lot of them. I've been having these conversations with my kids for over a year, and at some level it is sinking in.