HGTV’s Marrs Family Experience ‘Deeply Restorative’ Time After Loss
By Movieguide® Contributor
The Marrs family is recuperating with a family vacation after the loss of their precious pet, a young lamb named Tommy.
“Months ago, we cashed in a heap of airline miles and booked flights for our summer adventure. We didn’t know then that the timing would cause us to board the plane with red-rimmed eyes and heavy hearts after the sudden and unexpected loss of our beloved Tommy,” Jenny Marrs wrote on Instagram on July 5. “I really didn’t feel like packing or enduring a long couple of travel days, I just wanted to crawl into bed and cry for a bit longer.”
Movieguide® reported July 3:
“Every morning for the past 45 days, I woke up and warmed water for Tommy’s bottle. As the water warmed, I poured myself a cup of coffee. After mixing the bottle with formula, I’d walk outside with a mug in one hand and a bottle in the other and shout, ‘Tommy!’ I’d laugh as he’d ‘Baa!’ in response and come running toward me at a gallop,” Marrs wrote.
The family adopted the little lamb in May. “Our little Tommy now thinks I’m his momma and follows me everywhere,” Marrs previously posted.
“He’d chug his bottle, wagging his tail the whole time, and then nuzzle against me. Most often, I’d scoop him up and carry him back to the porch swing where he loved to be rocked to sleep for a morning nap,” she continued. “When he woke, I’d set him down in the backyard near his favorite: the clovers. He’d look up, give me a ‘baa!’ goodbye and happily begin grazing in the vast green and white speckled clover patch.”
The FIXER TO FABULOUS family lost Tommy when he became gravely sick. His mother hadn’t been able to give him the nutrients he needed, and his immune system was very weak as a result.
When he was alive, he followed Jenny everywhere and cried whenever she left his side. When he passed, they buried him under his favorite tree — “Tommy’s Tree.”
The family’s vacation in Europe has come as a sweet relief after the loss of little Tommy.
“Even though I didn’t understand any of it, God knew what was in store and knew we would need this time away together,” Marrs said. “He knew we would need to be greeted by dear friends who would handle logistics, navigate train schedules, cook us good food and allow us to delight in their city. He knew we would be okay.”
“And, here we are. We are okay. Our time in Germany was short but it was so full and, most importantly, we left with lighter spirits,” she said.
Marrs prayed that their time away from home with their five kids would provide “rest, restoration and healing.”
“The past few months have been tough in many ways and while traveling to new places doesn’t solve problems; taking the time to slow down, seek God and laugh together can be deeply restorative. ?,” she shared in a video clip of their family’s visit to Germany, to the tune of Lauren Daigle’s “Be Okay.”
Last week, Dave shared a video on Instagram of himself driving Tommy around on his lap before the lamb passed.
He said, “The last couple of days this is how Tommy and I hung out. He didn’t have a lot of energy, so we just went for rides in the ranger. I never thought I’d be emotional about a baby sheep that was with us for only 46 days, but here I am. You will be missed little buddy!”
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