Coping with Memory Clutter

Nate covered one entire wall of the new room in cork. When the family walks in, they immediately see that photographs, a book Jake had written and safety cards he had taken from airplanes are on display—right next to a button that says "Cancer Sucks."

The cork board wall, installed by Lowe's, contains some memories of the past, but Nate says he's also designed it with the future in mind. "I thought, 'Let's just keep this going and this wall can just ... be covered with stuff eventually,'" he says.

Jenny loves the new room. "It's really healthy," she says. "It's a much better place."

"You know what?" Nate says. "Of everything that you could have possibly said, that is my favorite thing."