KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There's one day a week a mothers' group in Buckner, Missouri, looks forward to. It looks like five kids crowded around a table drawing and painting.
"We do crafts with the kids, make cookies," said Angel Houston, one mother in the group. "Josi’s kids are my kids, my kid is her kid. We adore every single one of them."
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Houston and Josi Godwin call it "school days." Don't let the mess fool you, that day is just as special and important to the moms as it is to their kids.
"Alone, motherhood can feel lonely, it can be hard, but together it felt so much easier," said Godwin.
On Jan. 17, the group lost a member to stomach cancer. Jessica Imler was 25 years old, and was a good friend to both Godwin and Houston. Jessica leaves behind her husband, Jaron, and her 3-year-old daughter, Blair, who joins in on the mothers' group fun.
"It feels like we’re definitely missing a piece of our puzzle," Godwin said.
While it's hard to fill that piece, Godwin and Houston are hoping to alleviate some of the pain.
"I just always told her I got her back, and if I can’t have hers, then I’m going to have her family’s," Houston said.
They started a GoFundMe to help with the funeral expenses.
For Jaron Imler, he said the biggest blessing has been the people who care about Blair just as much as he does.
"It means the world to me and it meant the world to my wife, too, just to see that smile on that little girl," he said.
The "school days" will continue, even though it may feel different.
"We’re not just gonna disappear once your gone," Houston said. "We want to keep doing the Friday things with Blair, we want to be involved in Blair's life."
Because they know Jessica wouldn't have sat back either.
"Jess would’ve done this for us, but tenfold," Godwin said.
Jessica's mother started "Jessica's Fight to Victory" in November. She's already planning the second event, and has started a foundation in her daughter's name.
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