Saturday, May 7, 2011

Rachel's Playground is Finished!

This is what Rachel's Ark looked like this morning.... After 2 longs days...
The first exciting thing was getting the slide on... This is a "two by two" 24 foot long wide slide! 
Ready.... lift!

My favorite part of this one is all the 43's!  They're getting it all lined up!
Matt & I check out the view from the top - and let me tell you, it's HIGH!!  The kids are going to LOVE it!

At about 11 am this is where we were at... it was absolutely beautiful out and there were already 85 people there with us, working like crazy to get this done.  My Uncle was there again all day, my Mom and sister and I had a surprise visit from my grandparents who just got back from GA the other day!  I also was blessed to meet a couple more blog friends and be surrounded by my baby loss friends.  I had been talking to one girl and as she walked away realized her name tag said Dorie... She has been following my blog and we talk on line. I ran after her to give her a big hug.  Her daughter Ella had anencepahly and was born on 10/27 (Rachel was born at 10:27) 8 years ago.  Her older daughter and Des really hit it off too - but there is nothing like a hug from someone who really gets "it".  Des told me tonight that she met her new best friend :o)

At lunch I put on the video that I made - it had the two videos from my blog together on one DVD.  I was getting sad cause every time I looked around, nobody was paying any attention to it.  Thursday I had someone ask me how old Rachel was.  She was there helping for a community service project and didn't realize what we were doing.  So it was on my heart to make sure that everyone knew what we were doing, but also that in case we were all getting too task oriented, that we would be reminded of why we were there.. and so when nobody was watching it, I started crying.

And that was right before this happened at 1:00...

As I saw the storm clouds moving in, and the thunder started to roll, my heart was screaming for the storm to pass... People started scurrying to finish what they were doing and get electric tools out of the open.  I didn't know what this meant for the rest of our day.  It could change everything.  I stood there in the middle of all these people just staring at the sky...  begging God to not let it hit us. 

And it still did.  Just like our 'storm' with Rachel.

Carrie noticed me from a distance and came and put her arm around me as we both looked up... she noticed my pain and fear because she knows.  She & her husband (who was also there)  lost their son Ethan 7 years ago and although I didn't know her before, has been a huge source of encouragement to me these past few months. 

I started to get discouraged... everyone was saying it wouldn't last long.  But all I could see was the rain.  It was too real to ignore and it had completely stopped all progress.  And if it was just rain, we could've kept going, but the lightening wouldn't allow it.  And so we all gathered inside and under tents and waited for the storm to pass....  I saw blue skies in the distance and thought for sure they were going to bring that rainbow that I joked about months ago.  It never came, but soon the storm moved and we were blessed with the rest of the day of sun!  Within minutes everyone was back to work, as if nothing happened.  I stood there watching this and realized that before the storm, I was actually in a really sad frame of mind... but after the storm, I was so thankful.  And so the storm was really a blessing to me... and while there was no rainbow in the sky, I had one in my heart.

Soon after, we put up Rachel's Memorial sign...  it's amazing.  The pictures don't do it justice at all - but I would say that's true of the entire playground.
See what I mean?  We've been learning how to dance in the rain since August 4th!
This is Joe and Kelli Cicerelli from Learning Structures trying out our swings... These two people are amazing.  I have been so blessed working with them! Not just because of all they have done for us and donated to make this possible, but also because they are amazing people, great to work with, and both made it a point to remember Rachel with me throughout this process.  I love these guys!

Putting up the elephant!  You can also see the giraffes that come up through the roof!  So cute!  Denise painted these...  Me, Des, Isaiah, Sam and new baby were the first to go down the slide - we all went together... pic coming soon!
Des & Isaiah try out the swings!
And so by 7 pm, we were all cleaning up - Matt & I left with the kids around 7:30 and there were still a handful of people there painting the sealer on!  (that is a tedious job that was taking forever!)  But as we drove away, we looked at what we had accomplished...

A beautiful playground to add to Rachel's Legacy.  This picture just doesn't do it justice, the entire playground is absolutely breathtaking.  Everyone who walked around the corner and saw it for the first time would go "wow".  Next week, we'll put up the sign in the top of the entry arch!

In 3 days, we built and ark!  And so without further adieu...

The Rachel Alice Aube Memorial Playground!


Thank you to everyone who helped us make this happen... and Glory to my amazing God without Who none of this would have been possible.

We miss you like crazy Rachel....

16 comments:

  1. You're absolutely right, the picture's don't do it justice, but it is amazing! A huge congrats for what you have done here for God. And as always, you are in my prayers!

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  2. I love the picture of the SUN shining SO BRIGHTLY through the trees over Rachel's playground.
    Veronica said the VERY same thing to me as we left tonight. "MOM I met my new best friend, I had so much fun with Desirae!" Thank you Stacy for bringing so much healing through your words, blog, and friendship.

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  3. Rachel's Ark is beautiful! I can't wait to see it in person!!!

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  4. Stacy, I have to tell you that I left to go shopping(Lilac mall) and got to Rochester around 7 pm and what did I see with my 8 year old daughter up in the sky,(above the Dollar Tree) but a rainbow. I tried to capture the photo on my phone but to no avail. I wish I could have captured that for you.

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  5. Wow that is amazing....Good Job!

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  6. It is beautiful!!! I wish we could have stayed until the very end. We will be up there to see the finished product after the sign is up. The kids can't wait! They thought it was amazing when they came out at the end of the day before we left. We talked to them about Rachel all day when we saw them.

    Also, I wanted you to know that not everyone ignored the videos you had running. My friend Sandy and I and Brian watched them while waiting for the line to die down at lunch and all of us had tears streaming down our faces. She is so beautiful. She will be greatly missed by our family as well and we never even had the priviledge of meeting her in person.

    We are so thankful that we had the opportunity to help you see Rachel's Playground completed. Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of your lives. We are truly blessed.

    Praying for you on this Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day. I hope it is a blessed day for you in spite of all the sad memories surrounding it. Lots of love and prayers,
    Carrie

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  7. I was just thinking about the number 3. Jesus secured our salvation by rising again on the third day which we just celebrated. Rachel's birthday being the 3rd of December. And, building an ark in 3 days! The ark and the rainbow are just one more reminder of His promise of Hope in our lives!

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  8. Stacy, I am so happy that it all came together! I bet Rachel brags about you all the time up there.

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  9. Absolutely amazing, Stacy! I wish I could've been there to help build, and to give you a shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen. Sometimes people get so caught up in what they're doing, that they forget the reason why they're doing it. Beautiful!!

    You and your family are in my prayers.

    Happy Mother's Day!

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  10. I can't wait for Kirsten, Hunter, and I to come up and enjoy the playground. I was so sad we had to leave early, I wanted to stay till the end. It was a pleasure working with everyone in Rachels honor. Hugs and Happy Mothers Day to Rachels Mamma

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  11. Wow, Rachel's playground is amazing! So beautiful! Congratulations to you and all the helping hands. And praise the lord! Love, anja

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  12. absolutely beautiful, I stopped by quickly Saturday, but had to run...I need to slow my life down a bit!! I am going through your blog, I haven't been able to read it for the past couple of months. Thank goodness for Meagan fixing my laptop:)This is giving me something to do while I am at work on Mother's day...reading the blog of an amazing mother!! Much love and Happy Mother's day!! Colleen

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  13. Yay! It's beautiful! What a loving tribute to beautiful girl!

    *Hugs*
    Andrea

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  14. Oh, Stacy - WOW! I am tearfully reading your blog today! The playground is just beautiful!! What an amazing tribute to Rachel! Your family's love for her is apparent in every detail! =)
    If I'm ever in the area, we'll stop by for a swing & a slide! =D

    Love to you all! Now - go get some well deserved rest! ;)

    Lelia

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  15. Um, AMAZING!

    no words....just tears.

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We so appreciate your words of encouragement!
Thank you! ♥ The Aubes