New Page: Kyla's Photos

I am so thankful for photographs! When I was in college, I learned to appreciate the art of photography and how incredible it was to capture a moment in time so that it could be shared with others. After graduating, the cost of processing film and prints kept us from taking photos on a regular basis. However, when we bought our first digital camera roughly three years ago the joy of freezing moments in time was within our grasp once again. Since then, we have repeatedly taken photos of our children and family. As it turns out, I am so thankful for that! We have so many photographs of Kyla...with her sisters, with her grandparents, with her cousins, with her friends, and of course...with her mom and dad. :) These photos of Kyla are some of my most cherished possessions! They are now the only way that I can look into her eyes...I have two photos of Kyla in my car, one on each side of my rear-view mirror. It's not uncommon for me to look over to her and give her a wink on the way into work. I hope that each of you have your trusty digital camera and are diligent in capturing moments of your children's lives. If you have not been doing that, it is never too late to start! :)

I just wanted to make sure to point out that I just added a new link in the "Links" section on the right side of the page named Kyla's Photos. This is a collection of photos of Kyla and her loved ones from the last 2 years of Kyla's life here on earth. We hope you enjoy looking at them as much as we do.

Please feel free to leave me some feedback on this page. Do the photos load too slowly? Are the photos easy to view? What is your take on this page? Thanks for any input you may have.

Here Is The Best Light

Oh, how life is good when the sun is out! Kora, Bree, and I have been outside so much lately Kora said to me last night as I was tucking her into bed, "Mom can we rest tomorrow?" I hugged her up and told her we could do just that. When the sun would come out with Kyla still here to make us smile, she would get her bathing suit on and lay in the sun with me. She would put on sunscreen, although she would still tan with a 50 spf on, and we would eat ice cream together. Sometimes she would go in the slip-n-slide, sometimes she would sit in the shade right along the side of me, but most of the time she was right there with me. Kyla was always in her bathing suit as most children are at one point or another. But Kyla would force Kora to get hers on and in the middle of winter Kyla would lay out beach towels, break out the sunglasses and kick back in our hallway while Kelly Clarkson or Christina Aguilera was blaring from her room.

One night I had to walk around them quite a few times to put some laundry away. I was getting upset...all I wanted to do was just walk without the detour so I asked, "Kyla, do you have to be right here in the middle of the house? Why don't you go into your room, or in Kora's room? You guys could have a great time in there, and you could even close the door. That way you could listen to your music even louder." I thought Kyla would go for this one seeing she loves to listen to loud music. I thought I was going to win a debate with her... I got excited thinking this was the day I would win. I only got four to five wins a week and I wanted this one, badly. But Kyla didn't even move and with her hands still behind her head she said so calmly, "No. You see mom, right here... right here in this very spot is where I get the best rays from the light. My room, Kora's room, we only have one light so it's not the best light. But here..." She took one hand off of her head and pointed to a light, "here is the best light." I stood there with my arms full of towels and washcloths looking down at her. I went to roll my eyes, still upset about the situation, when I slowly looked around and saw the three to four lights on her face and raised my eyebrows, "Wow, Kyla I guess you're right. These lights give you the best rays of the house." And from there I continued to walk over and around my two silly girls who were enjoying their beach and the best rays they could find.

Everyone who knows Kyla knows she's all about the party, and with one coming up in June, I bet she is thrilled! If you or anyone you know would like to come to Kyla's benefit dinner and silent auction please download a ticket order form, fill it out, and send it in. We are going to have so much fun, you really don't want to miss it! And again, if you can't come but have something to donate to this fundraiser that would be great too. Either way we want you involved and would love to receive anything from you, even if it's just prayer. We can never tell you how much we appreciate your time and effort for our family...we wouldn't be able to do any this without of you.