2021 is off to a tragic start for five young girls in California. Their mother and sole caretaker passed away after her fight with coronavirus. A few days after facetiming her five girls for the last time, 33-year-old Jasmine Jacobo passed away on January 13.

Since their father is not in the picture, the girls–ages 6 to 15–were in danger of being placed in foster care. Jasmine’s brother Fidencio and his wife Crystal didn’t hesitate to take the girls into their home.

“It was hard but it didn’t matter. It was something that had to be done. They’re family so it didn’t matter. My family went from three to eight,” said Crystal Jacobo to local news station KCBS

Crystal and Fidencio have a 4-year-old of their own, and it was definitely a a tight squeeze in the three bedroom home in Moreno Valley, California as the Jacobo’s went from a family of three to a family of eight overnight. Their nieces heartbreaking reaction to receiving the news of their mother’s death is something Crystal and Fidencio will never get over:

“Hearing their cries was the worst thing, those screams still haunt me. Every time I think about it, I hear those cries, and it breaks my heart. Nobody should have to experience that.”

Fidencio works as a pipe-fitter and Crustal was enrolled in nursing school until the girls came to live with them two weeks ago, and she had to drop out for the time being to devote her full attention to her full house.

Due to the drastic increase in their financial responsibilities, the couple set up a GoFundMe page so friends and the community could help cover the funeral costs and donate to a memorial fund in Jasmine’s honor which will help cover the girls’ living expenses. They have since closed the fundraiser and are no longer accepting donations, but the account raised $61,470. In the description, Crystal said:

 “I know there are truly many hearts that are broken now that she is no longer with us. But the hearts that are broken the most are the 5 beautiful angels that call her mommy.”

Jasmine’s sudden death meant her girls were not able to say goodbye to her, which weighs heavy on their hearts. So the girls spend time talking to their mom every night before bed and always say a prayer on her behalf

“I tell my mom I love her, I tell her at least you’re not hurting no more [sic]. When she was hurting she couldn’t tell me that she loved me, but she blowed [sic] me a kiss while that mask was on her,” said daughter Jazlynn

The road ahead will be a challenging one for the Jacobo family, but Fidencio knows they will make it through it all:

“I put all my trust in God. He’s been with us, he’s blessed us and he’s seen us through so much, so we know that we have a new mission.”