Thursday, October 7, 2010

Celebrating Felicity's Purposeful Life

Yesterday we celebrated two years of missing Felicity. Paul took the day off which was such a gift to me. My mom also joined us.

I started preparing for Felicity's birthday a few weeks ago. I really felt an intense desire to buy a little girl's outfit so I went and bought this outfit for a friend's daughter, who was born just a few weeks before Felicity.



Caleb woke up at 6:22 am yesterday, so I was able to be up before the sun and also be up at the exact time that Felicity was born. It helped me feel more connected to her and to her birthday to be awake during that time and be able to sit and think about her.


We spent the morning decorating cupcakes and arranging flowers to be delivered to some special people later in the day.
It was then that Ethan noticed the visitor on our deck. This is something that has never happened before, so it was really special to have it happen on Felicity's Day. And I was able to get a picture.

I think he's a northern goshawk, but I'm not too proficient in hawk identification. He sat there for about five minutes after we noticed him and then he took to flight which was a beautiful sight!

After eating cupcakes, we left for our day of celebrating. First of, we stopped at the hospital that Felicity and I were transferred to. We had one special nurse that day and she was wonderfully compassionate to us in our grief. We had not been back to see her since though we spoke with her on a couple occasions after Felicity's death. She knew we were coming today, but it was still wonderful to see her, hug her, and bring her flowers and a gift.

She asked if I'd be willing to work on a sheet of resources for grieving families that they can include in the folders that are given out. I told her I'd be thrilled to do it and I am! If you can think of a book/website/resource that was helpful to you, please comment so I can include it.

Next we went to see our NILMDTS photographer. She did not know we were coming and so it was really neat to surprise her! She shared with me that she had just been viewing Felicity's photos because the day before she had done another session at the hospital. So heartbreaking to hear of another family going through such pain.

After our flower delivery surprises were complete we headed down to our favorite hiking place. After lunch drove to a scenic spot overlooking the St. Croix River. The colors were beautiful even if they were past their peak. While we were there we did this:




The balloons traveled almost straight up. What a glorious day it will be when those who have believed on Jesus rise up into the sky to meet Jesus.

After that we traveled over to the Wisconsin side of the St. Croix to hike in Interstate Park. It was a wonderful indian summer day. The blanket of golden leaves on the ground in the forest made me think of the streets of gold in Heaven that Felicity walks upon.







After all that it was time for ice cream and pizza at Schoony's, our favorite restaurant in Taylor's Falls, MN. The celebration ended with a few minutes visiting Felicity's grave.
It was a good day, although not without tears. She will always be missed and loved! I am thankful though for the healing God has provided for our family in the past two years. We rest in His promises!

7 comments:

melissa said...

Remembering a dear, precious little girl with you. I wish I could hear her sweet voice singing blessings to the Lamb right now.... Looking forward to the day when we join Felicity around the throne!

Amy said...

and......I'm crying.

What a beautiful day, Rachel. I'm glad you got through it and did so much to honor Felicity.

gma pam said...

Thanks for sharing your beautiful day for your beautiful daughter. Everything you did seems perfect. I'm glad you get to work on resources for other families. I did mention a book on an earlier post, but just in case you didn't see it, I'll mention it again.
"I Will Carry You" by Angie Smith

Sara said...

Remembering your sweet Felicity with you. Your day seems beautiful, especially to this Wisconsin, midwest girl:) Love it! I think that a hike is the perfect idea. Praying for you Rachel...how sweet of you to give away those beautiful flower arrangements!

Sara

Tonya said...

Remembering Felicity with you. I'm glad you had such a beautiful day to celebrate such a beautiful little girl. I can't help but think that the reflection of the sun shining in the picture with the balloons in the sky resembles a cross...

Love,
Tonya

Nicole Browning said...

Rachel-

What an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day in which to remember Felicity!!

~Nicole (LLL/facebook)

Ebe said...

Rachel, what a beautiful day. I'm so thankful. I love that you bought a little girl's outfit. That is precious.
Remembering Felicity with you.

love,
ebe