What started out as Claire’s Excruciating Due Date (see yesterday’s post) turned into Claire’s Extraordinary Due Date!
My sister came over and whisked the
kiddos off for some fun while Andrew and I got ready for the day. We
started off by buying a picnic lunch at the new local market and then
drove down the Ingraham Trail shedding a few tears and having a few
laughs along the way out to the Cameron Falls day area. We ate lunch and
enjoyed the calm and quiet!
Afterwards we headed back to Prelude
West and took the camera with us for the short Prelude Lake Panoramic
Trail Hike where we wrote Claire’s name in the snow in a few locations.
It was a little windy but otherwise a beautiful, clear day.
We then headed back into town and
picked the kids up and went out to the Dettah Ice Road as I had a
fabulous idea (if I do say so myself!)! We wrote Claire’s name in the
ice! I looooove the way the ice road looks when you hit a clear patch.
The intricate patterns under the ice are spectacular and make quite the
frame!! The whole family gathered around her name and my sister took a
few pics.
To end the day off on a high note (at
our children’s insistence!!) we went to Pizza Hut for dinner. Molly set
up a few rounds of hangman for us. Puzzle one was: We love you Claire.
Puzzle two: We miss you Claire. Puzzle three: Happy Birthday Claire. And
when our food and drinks arrived we made a toast to our little love
with a vigorous round of “Cheersing”! (Our boys don’t quite know how to
be gentle yet!).
To add to all of the treasures of the
day, I found a sign posted on a local restaurant wall that reads, “We
may not have it all together but together we have it all.” I instantly
adopted it as our new family motto... it sums our life up pretty well!
Last night I shared a short visit with
my best friend, Evelyne, to thank her for all that she has done for me
followed by a visit to my mom, dad and sister so that I could share a
part of the day with Claire’s grandparents and aunt and to thank them as
well. They have all said all along that what they have said and done
was no big deal and that is what they are here for, but to us, all that
they have done has gone above and beyond what we could have ever dreamed
and hoped for.
My dear friend Cygni wrote the following message to me yesterday,
“Today’s the day that you exhale, Jaim. May Claire’s light fill you today and everyday from now on.”
I exhaled. I cried. I laughed. I
smiled. And most of all, I loved. I had an extraordinary day with my
family! My life is full of light and love and all that is important.
