Bode and Morgan Miller honor late daughter in touching photo shoot
Olympic skier Bode Miller and his wife, pro volleyball star Morgan Beck Miller, are still reeling from the devastating loss of their daughter in June.
Emmy Miller tragically died in a drowning accident at the age of 19 months.
To honor the late infant, the couple held a portrait of Emmy in a recent family photo shoot with their other four children.
Beck Miller reflected on their family's life without Emmy in a post alongside the images.
"Merry Christmas to our baby girl in heaven. We miss you so much!" she captioned the post.
"2018 has been a year full of overwhelming sadness and overwhelming joy. We have spent half of the year mourning and attempting to heal the loss of our angel which feels like an impossible battle all while celebrating the birth of our son," she continued.
Beck Miller welcomed a son, Easton Vaughn Rek Miller, in October.
"Seeking normalcy for our children has been our driving force forward," she said.
She noted that starting a new year would be different with the loss of Emmy.
"Normally I would be looking forward to a 'fresh beginning' in 2019 but there is no more starting fresh after the loss of a child," she wrote.
"So here’s to a healthy 2019 full of personal growth and creating many memories with my babies, full of smiles and laughs. Wishing everyone a special holiday season surrounded by loved ones," she concluded.
Since Emmy's death, the family has raised awareness for water safety education.
Beck Miller has also opened up about how difficult it was to welcome new life while still mourning the loss of her daughter.
Sharing her son's ultrasound in November, she explained its significance.
"When we walked out of the hospital without our Emmy, despair and uncertainty surrounded us," she wrote on social media.
"The parting words from the medical staff, in those early hours after we lost our baby Emmy, was to check on the baby in my tummy," she went on. "So, 5 days after losing her, I reluctantly had the ultrasound tech come check on the baby growing in my belly."
She described her emotional state during this painful period.
"To step into my future without my daughter felt like a dagger to my heart," she wrote. "How can life change so quickly? During the last ultrasound, my baby Emmy lay in my arms wondering what she was looking at on the screen. And, now, she was gone."
She said she noticed something about the ultrasound that gave her hope.
"But as quickly as I saw this new baby, my eyes moved to the angel lying to the right of his face, holding him, arms around his neck," she wrote. "Almost as if to say, 'It’s okay. I’m here. It’s going to be okay. I love you.'”
"I hold onto this picture as a clear sign that my son knows his sister. That my baby girl Emmy is still with us," she added.
