A Grand Reunion with With Our Australian Girl — Claire’s Return

CLAIRE IS HOME! And we have all been in such a beautiful little cocoon of family for the last week. I look over at Claire one hundred times a day and my heart beats a little faster with gratitude.

Because she’s HERE.

It’s so difficult to describe the things that are in my heart about this. I think of that journey she’s been on. The ups and the downs. Oh, for the last year and a half I think of the FaceTimes where we cried together. The ones where we prayed our guts out together, rejoiced together, and marveled at this beautiful journey together. I can hardly believe all of that has come to an end and she is by my side.

A real, live woman changed so beautifully. More confident and also more humble. She asks the best questions. She dives deep in relationships and church and gospel.

She has learned so much.

She has loved even more.

And that just changes you. In all the best of ways.

But yet she is still the same Claire with that twinkle in her eye, taking herself lightly, looking out for others, and bringing so much energy with her along the way.

Oh I adore her.

Last Tuesday night the other kids arrived: Max & Murphy (Abby couldn’t come because she’s 37 weeks pregnant, dang it! But also hooray because that baby’s COMING!), Elle (Carson had rotations but got to come after for the weekend), and Grace.

All of us with our hearts pumping wildly in anticipation. Looking at each other with wide eyes that we would get out girl back the next day.

Murphy felt the energy too. I love this pic of Grace and Murphy (taken by Max) en route to the airport:

I mean really. None of us can get enough of that little girl. And we were all so excited to see Claire see her, so grown up in the last eighteen months!

Welcome Home Signs

We whipped up our welcome home signs:

Thankfully Max can write in Chinese because that’s the only way Claire understands these days. Ha, I kid. But so fun that Max, Dave and Claire now all share in this language we love.

Also Elle and Grace took Chinese in college, so Lu and I better get busy.

Lucy, of course, got busy with her own rendition of a welcome sign. She writes the very sweetest things from the heart and I love that.

Dave pulled up the flight so we could watch where Claire was on that long journey around the world to greet us.

I love that Elle’s friend who came over to give her a hug caught our prayer huddle from out on the back porch where she was talking with Elle.

The Airport

And then there we were the next morning at the airport, willing that slightly delayed flight to land already!

And then, there she was. Coming out of that sea of arrivers, racing toward us.

I LOVE Dave and Lucy’s expressions in this picture:

The Hug

And we got to give that giant hug. The kind of hug filled with only the happiness a long absence can produce.

Oh it was just the best.

(Full video coming soon.)

I love this FaceTime video Abby took so she could be “there” too:

Oh dang, I can’t get it to upload. Once I figure it out I’ll come back and post!

So much love so thick around us.

All the reunions with people who love her so much.

And joy beaming.

Max and Abby did such a great job FaceTiming with Claire and talking about “Aunt CC” so that Murphy was quick to warm up.

LOVED seeing that cute little relationship.

All five original kids just loving up their sister:

No better pay-off for a mama.

Lunch and HOME

Keepsakes from Australia

When we finally got home, Claire pulled out all so many things to show us from Australia, us all gathered around on the floor in the kitchen trying to take it all in.

There were special photo books put together by members, companions and friends, filled with the sweetest notes, journals galore, written by Claire’s careful hand with beautiful keepsakes taped into the pages. Her Chinese study journals. Sydney bags, Chinese calligraphy of her favorite scriptures, and about 37 koala keychains given as gifts.

Oh, the things that make up eighteen months on a mission are pretty beautiful to me.

We all gathered in to have her show us all kinds of pictures and videos from her mission:

How do you even begin to sum up all those adventures, and that journey of a lifetime?? We will still be asking for as long as can be. So much life she has lived as a missionary!

The Release

That evening we went to the church to meet up with a member of our stake presidency to officially release Claire from her service as a missionary.

To take off that nametag she’s worn for 18 months.

The sun setting on the world around us as it set on her time as a missionary.

We came home to have Mexican food as requested…

And talk, talk, talk to that girl who had been awake for nearly 40 hours but stayed awake to be with us.

Still wrapped up in that cocoon of family love.

Happiness.

It’s been a week and I still can’t get over how lucky we are to have her sitting next to me in the car or across the table at dinner or on a date with me and Dave for our workout this morning, ha!

I wish she could stay forever.

But this afternoon she just left to go spend a few days with Elle and Carson and I’m missing her already. How can I even let her go??? But thankfully just temporary. And hey, you can’t go wrong with time with sisters! (Grace will join them too, and I love that trio!).

Now to pick up all the loose ends I’ve let fall apart while I’ve been wrapped up in all this family togetherness. SO much happened for those days all together and I’ll share all that soon!

For now, just so grateful.