A Great Fundraiser

As always, Relay for Life was an awesome and heartwarming event! Sissy and I are very tired. The hope chest that her daddy built was won by a friend of mine from work, someone who is very special to both Sissy and me. See how GREAT GOD is??? We love and thank HIM for everything. Gotta get some rest now... below is a simple poem about some of the things that remind me of Katie...

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i miss you

and I know that I have to make this walk
without you now
even though I do not want life to go on
I feel you everywhere I go
and I cry at the oddest things
like a cucumber cut in long skinny slices
or a picture of Alan Jackson
a pair of black “Buckle” shoes
or Tweety Bird panties
like a 100 wrote with smiley faces
a pink or purple magic marker
like a sliding board on a playground
or a “midget” bottle of Mt. Dew
like a strand of IV tubing
or a Rugrats cartoon
like a sunset
or a moon
oh God how I miss you girl
oh God how I miss you
please someone help me
understand
I know that I have to make this journey
without my little girl
but I don’t want to

for katie by mom
~~~

Celebrate. Remember. Fight Back.

Today is the annual Relay for Life event, which is both dreaded and welcomed at the same time. Although it is very important to me to help raise money for cancer research, I always get very melancholy during this time.

Katie would want me and her sissy to be there so we will... so many memories await but we will get through them. An angel taught us how to be brave!

We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another.
~ Luciano de Crescenzo

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The One Still Here

Sissy and Kate Kate

Today is Shannon's birthday. Katie would be so very proud of the sweet, beautiful girl that her little sis has become. I am a very blessed mom indeed. One daughter in heaven and one still here with me. Thank you God.

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ~ I John 4:7

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Very moving...

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

~Dalai Lama

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Surrounded by Your Glory...

Am sitting here in the early morning hours, preparing to get my work day started. I like to listen to contemporary Christian music and often will have it playing softly in the background while I work.

My very favorite song is “I Can Only Imagine” by MercyMe. This song makes me cry every single time I hear it, because the words are so beautiful.

Even though I enjoy the MercyMe version the best, the Amy Grant rendition of the song (called “Imagine”) is good also. It’s been covered by several other musical artists and the song’s legacy lives on forever.

When I hear this song, I picture my Katie safe in the arms of Jesus, surrounded by His glory.

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Impossible Things

Queen Kate-Kate. Inside the magical playhouse at Give Kids the World village.

"There is no use trying," said Alice. "One can't believe impossible things."

"I dare say you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

~ Lewis Carroll

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Happy Mother's Day

Photograph by Laura Monahan

My favorite Mother’s Day story… some web sites say that this is by Erma Bombeck and others claim that it’s Author Unknown.

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A Child's Angel

Once upon a time there was a child ready to be born. So one day he asked God -

Child: They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?

God: Among the many angels, I chose one for you. She will be waiting for you and will take care of you.

Child: But tell me, here in Heaven, I don't do anything else but sing and smile; that's enough for me to be happy.

God: Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you every day. And you will feel your angel's love and be happy.

Child: And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me, if I don't know the language that men talk?

God: Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you to how to speak.

Child: And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?

God: Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray.

Child: I've heard that on earth there are bad men. Who will protect me?

God: Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life.

Child: But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore.

God: Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way for you to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you.

At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from earth could be already heard, and the child in a hurry asked softly -

Child: Oh God, if I am about to leave now, please tell me my angel's name.

God: Your angel's name is of no importance. You will call her, MOMMY.

~~~

In Heaven

Katie, age 6

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In Heaven

The doctors say you have to go away
To a place where there is no more pain
But before I can begin to let you go
There are some things that mommy has to know
Like, who’s going to rock you in heaven

Who is going to rock you in heaven
Who is going to hold your little hand
When bad dreams come, and you are scared at night
Who’ll be there to love and understand
And who will rock you in heaven

A big girl now, seven years old, and so wise
But sometimes late at night we compromise
Just you and me in the dark, nobody stares
When we get out that big old rocking chair
But who will rock you in heaven

Who is going to rock you in heaven
Who is going to catch you when you fall
When you are sick and hurting and alone
Who’ll be there to answer when you call
And who will rock you in heaven

The angels spoke to me in my dreams
They said, this is not as painful as it seems
For we will not let her walk all alone
When it is time for her to come home
The angels will rock her in heaven

The angels will rock her in heaven
And we will hold her little hand
No bad dreams, no sickness, and no pain
There is no cancer is our land
And we will rock her in heaven

The angels are going to rock my little girl
In heaven

a song for katie by mommy
~~~

GKTW

If you see this logo, please know that it is very important. Give a dollar or two. Special kids are treated like the angels they are because of this organization.

One day I will tell you about the special trip that we took to Disney World; we stayed at the GKTW Kids Village.

One day...

I have found the paradox that if I love until it hurts, then there is no hurt, but only more love.
~Mother Teresa

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Peaceful...

imikimi - Customize Your World

The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him. ~ Nahum 1:7

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