Last Week

My heart feels so heavy. I read Nichole's blog this morning and feel such sadness for her - and for all of them. I ache as someone who knows what grief feels like and looks like - the shock, the sinking reality, the way it has affected those who are close to me. But reading her words this morning makes me ache even more as a fellow mother who knows the unconditional love of a child.


I have several pictures on my camera from our week in Manitoba, so I thought I'd share a few of them here...

The night before the funeral, we took Brad & Nichole's kids and went to visit my sister Erin's family one evening at their campsite in Birdshill park. The kids were acting goofy as always!

The kids asked about Micah and Keziah and I wished they could be there to hang out with all their cousins again...


Later that evening Erik got a (much-needed) lesson in tie-tying from Brad's friend Ernie:


Their friend Kim sewed these matching monkeys for Josh, Kailyn and Noah:


Silas getting a bath in the sink:


Grandpa Harder getting a post-bath snuggle with Silas. My dad called him "Micah" all week because he thought he looked exactly like him! I agree that Silas is looking less like Keziah lately and more like his big brother...


Tuesday was the funeral and the service was beautiful - I loved hearing the tributes about Noah and how he had affected so many people. After the service we drove out to a peaceful cemetery in the country outside of La Salle:


We released balloons in memory of Noah:


Then we were given the opportunity to write a message on the casket. Here are Nichole, Brad, Josh and Kailyn writing their messages to Noah:


Brad & Nichole were able to find a teenage girl to watch Silas in the church nursery during the service which was very helpful. Unfortunately Silas screamed the entire time. I felt so bad for her because I could tell she was quite flustered when I came to pick him up. She said to me, "He just wouldn't stop crying!" So, I just tried to reassure her that it was totally OK. Oh well.

Silas getting in some one-on-one time with Smoky the cat:


And falling alseep later that morning on the floor. He never falls asleep like this anymore as he's usually swaddled up tight and placed in a quiet room with a loud fan... So it was worth a picture:


When we got back on Thursday, Silas had nothing but smiles and giggles for Micah and Keziah. He definitely recognized them! Erik and I were so excited to see the kids too - I haven't been away from them for that long since we went to Maui last year. And we've been enjoying the cooler weather here in BC after the unbearable heat of July. Today's rain is a welcome sight...