Similarly, he said, he doesn't believe his wife would have been able to handle the loss of more of her children. The ones who survived "were the ones able to cope with the loss of the others," he said.

Gary recalls being "in a fog" after the accident, barely able to see a foot in front of him. He said his mind, for some reason, only worried about the little things, such as the Christmas presents in the trunk. When he returned home, he broke down in tears when he saw Julinna's Princess nightgown on the counter, his wife's blouse on a hanger and "presents for all these people under the tree who would never see them."

Despite this extreme grief, "It's amazing not only how the Lord carries you through these experiences but the way so many people reach out," Ceran said.

As for the man who allegedly caused the tragedy, Ceran is willing to forgive.

"My heart totally goes out to him ... not one iota of anger," he said. "You think of how small the odds are of two vehicles being in the same point at the same time, I can't help but in some way think it was meant to be."

Ceran says Clarissa's hospital room isn't a fraction of the size it needs to be to handle the family's gifts and visitors. Within the first 24 hours of the accident, approximately 500 visitors went to the hospital.

"The outpouring of love is more overwhelming than the event itself," he said. "I couldn't help but think, 'Who's praying for (the other driver)?' because his life is impacted in even more ways than mine. He has to deal with the same grief and loss as I do, as well as deal with the guilt and remorse of being the cause of it. I have thousands of people who are literally carrying me through this experience and he has no one. You tell me, where's the real tragedy?"

Funeral services are tentatively scheduled for Saturday. Ceran hopes the children will be buried next to their siblings under a willow tree at Valley View Cemetery in West Valley City.

For the funeral of one of his other children, Ceran wrote a poem called "The Greatest Miracle." The family, he said, had always prayed for a miracle, one they assumed would include healing their sick children. Instead, he said, he saw from his tragedies a thousand other miracles in the form of people who changed their lives after seeing what Ceran and his family had experienced.

Caleb has a broken pelvis, a broken rib and a shoulder injury but was well enough to be released from Primary Children's Medical Center Monday. On Tuesday, he was moving around in a wheelchair in his sister's room. The curly-haired boy smiled at visitors, some complete strangers.

"You look at what he's been through ... he's an absolute rock," Gary Ceran said.

A fund to help with the Cerans' medical expenses has been set up at the branches of Zions Bank.

As Caleb sat in his wheelchair next to his sister's bed Tuesday, the siblings displayed a strength of spirit similar to their father's. They believe they are being carried by the strength and compassion of others.

"We're just so grateful for everyone's love and support," Clarissa said. "It means so much to us."

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E-mail: preavy@desnews.com