Memorial Day - Full Circle

I'm sure you remember my Memorial Day post from last summer...it was one of the most perfect days I can remember.  We enjoyed a quiet weekend at home as a family, officially kicking off the start of summer and celebrating how far our family had come in one short year.  The weather was beautiful.  Our little girl was healthy.  We felt like life was finally starting to settle down.

Last year Memorial Day fell on May 30 - the day before our world came crashing down.

That afternoon Charlotte and I decided to take a trip to a park near our house.  Oddly enough, she had never been to a park before....and let me tell you, she was fascinated.  I wish that I could have been inside of her head as she soaked in all of the activity that was going on around her.  There were kids running all around the playground equipment, families playing frisbee in the open grass - so many new things for a little girl who had spent so much of her life in germ lock-down.  


While at the park she experienced another "first" - swings.  Always a thrill seeker, Charlotte wasn't satisfied with the gentle pushes I was giving...she wanted to fly!  

I wish that you could hear her giggles more in this video (they seem to be drowned out by the crazy woman repeatedly shouting WWHHEEEEE!)  She was totally loving it.

I'm so incredibly thankful for Memorial Day 2011--but at the same time it stings like crazy.  So much has changed in one short year.  We have gone from sunshine and swings to....to....I honestly don't know what.  Today I find myself missing Charlotte more than ever and praying with all my heart that there is a special swing set in Heaven that she can "fly" on whenever she chooses.

I love you baby girl.