Clara Michele Olson (Eulogy)

Today would have been my due date with baby Clara. I wanted to post the beautiful eulogy my Aunt Lisa gave at Clara's funeral to honor her on this hard day. Also, some of the amazing photo's my sister Cortney took. 

Clara Michele Olson was born May 25, 2012 at 9:08 in the morning. She was long awaited and very much loved.

Her parents are Benjamin James Olson and Andrea Michele Anderson Olson. She is also adored by her big brother, Cash. Many other family members greeter her arrival including Grandparents Rick and Annie Olson, Scott Anderson and Mark and Lori Jamison. Aunts, uncles, cousins and friends were excited to meet her and to welcome her to our family.

Although Clara was only able to stay with us a short while, her impact was and is endless. As my mom liked to say, "It is not the number of breaths you take, but number of moments that take your breath away".

Clara Michele, you took our breath away......

Her story actually starts long before her birth. The first thing we learned about Clara was that she liked to surprise us. Last fall, just when her mommy and daddy were running out of hope for another baby after some heartbreaking miscarriages, all of a sudden they found out that they were pregnant! This was a huge surprise and a very happy one.

The next big surprise came when they found out that their baby was a sweet little girl. It was a great holiday present for our family as we have lots of boys, and not quite as many girls. Andrea, Ben and Cash were very happy to know that this little girl was on her way.

As Clara grew inside her mom's tummy, she let her personality be known. She was not shy. She didn't give Andrea much rest, and she was very active. Some of Nanny's best memories are sitting on Andrea's couch with her and talking about the baby while Clara kicked and jumped.

We were surprised once again when the doctor said there might be some challenges with Clara's birth. Andrea and Ben are people of tremendous faith, and they trusted God the He knew what he was doing.  Andrea was so strong and did everything humanly possible to give her baby every single chance to heal her little body, even putting her own health in danger. Ben was so protective and did every single thing he could think of to keep baby Clara safe. Everyone prayed for a miracle.

Probably because of the intense love of her parents, Clara continued to grow and thrive during the pregnancy. The doctors were not hopeful, but we never lost hope. this was a little girl with an undeniable desire to come to Ben and Andrea's family. I personally believe that Clara chose Ben and Andrea as her parents, and that she was willing to take whatever difficult circumstances were involved, just to be their daughter.

It was an unusual pregnancy, with all the anxiety and uncertainty, but Clara gave her mom a great gift everyday by wiggling and kicking and even getting the hiccups, as if to reassure mom and say, "hey mom, I'm in here!"

As Clara grew, she heard her  mommy singing to her and talking to her on a daily basis. We know she loves her mom's beautiful voice. She also heard her daddy's voice as he talked to her. She probably even heard him cheering for the Lakers during the NBA playoffs. She heard Cash when he was jumping off the couch pretending to be Captain America. She was surrounded by a happy, active family.

When Clara was born last week, she gave us the biggest surprise of all- she was so perfect and so beautiful and she weighed more then 7 lbs 4 weeks early. We knew she had a great spirit, but the doctors had warned us to expect all kinds of physical problems due to her lack of kidney function. Instead, when she was born we were all amazed by her chubby little cheeks, pink skin and delicate hands and feet. She looked a lot like Cash. She looked very familiar to all of us.

As Andrea whispered to her softly, "You tricked us with your good looks."

Even still, the doctors told us she wouldn't be able to stay on earth very long, because there was absolutely nothing they could do to help her lungs and kidneys work. This is where we learned a lot more about baby CLara. For one thing, we learned that she is very strong willed and determined. There was no way she was going to miss meeting her dad, her mom, and her brother. She fought like crazy to stay with us for a whole day.

Just a few minutes after her birth, Ben gave his little girl a priesthood blessing, with help from Rick, Chad, Jason and Scott. Ben is such a good daddy to her and he gave her so many gifts. He loves her beyond words.

We learned that Clara is a fighter, because she defied the odds. She showed us her toughness.

We learned that Clara could inspire people to do things that they never thought possible- some of the hardest things that moms and dads and families are ever asked to do. But, she was worth every bit of it. She made us better people.

Because Clara fought so hard to be with us, Andrea and Ben were able to hold her and talk to her and tell her many things during those few hours they had with her. While she was with us, Clara was like a powerful magnet that drew us all to her. We couldn't help staring at her perfect little profile, her soft squishy skin, her silky blonde hair, and her pure strong spirit. Thanks to Aunt Cortney for taking some beautiful pictures of her. We couldn't get enough of her, and we can't wait to see her again.

As we sat with her during that day, time stopped. You could feel the pure love in the room. It was as if she was filling the whole room with her personality and we were so happy to know her. We could tell that she felt the love of all the family members who were able to meet her and kiss her. Aunts Holly and Margaret, Jaime and Cortney, Uncles Chad and Joe, Jason, Kyle and Steve- she met all of us. Her grandparents were especially tender with her. Even the nurses were drawn to her.

How can one little baby affect so many people so profoundly? Well, that's how special she is.

As her aunt Jaime said, "My world will be changed forever because I spent an entire day with an angel. Clara Michele couldn't stay long......But she filled our hearts with enough love to last us until we see her again. And I know we will. I can't wait to see her back in her precious mommy and daddy's arms..."

As you can see, Clara is an influential person who has already touched more lives in one day than many people do in a whole lifetime.

It's funny that, as parents, we always think it is us who shapes our children, but really, they shape us. We learned from Clara that she can help us-- even though we are sad-- because she helps us remember that little piece of heaven that was ours for a while. Clara also taught us to appreciate every minute we have with our loved ones. What a gift, to know that time is so precious.

We know we will see her again. "For now we see through a glass darkly; but then, face to face". (I Cor. 12) We are grateful for the sealing powers of heaven that assure us that Clara Michele Olson is ours forever.                                                   -Lisa Michele Church