You are a dear friend. Maybe the husband will not be up to going through the family pictures any time soon. It might be painful to him to see reminders of all the good times that they had together, now that their future seems so threatened. Don't give up yet, though. Perhaps you could offer to go through the pictures with the children. It might be a pleasant distraction for them, and they're old enough to learn a bit about quilting. In fact, teaching them the joy of making something with their hands would be a lifelong gift to them, and something that might give them emotional strength when they need it most. Another idea might be to get the little girls to draw pictures showing their love for their mom or fun times with her. Those could be scanned and would make a very special quilt.