Kaylie

A year ago today I was wakened early in the morning by a phone call from my sister, Shelley, telling me that our niece,  Kaylie (Sam and April's 13-mo-old baby girl), had stopped breathing and they were headed for the hospital.  That sort of news makes life come to a standstill.  I remember stopping and praying right away for April and Sam, and then going to tell Johnny about it, tears flowing, heart aching terribly for my sister, and then just waiting to hear......

Not long after, the phone call came that Kaylie was in Heaven, and all of our lives changed forever.  When a loss of this magnitude happens to your sister, you feel the pain of it almost as deeply as if it had occured to you!  I say "almost" because there's no way I can say I completely understand what they have gone through.  

The effects of Kaylie's little life have been astounding to our entire family.   While she was here, her little heart shared love in a new dimension, and it was contagious!   After she was gone, she caused all of us to see LIFE as something more precious than we had previously seen it, and TIME with our loved ones very, very dear.  

As April said to me last night,  "I kept thinking all day.. 'this was my last day with Kaylie last year and I had no idea'."   

I'll give my children extra hugs today, and speak more kindly.  I'll smile into the eyes of all my children...and listen to their stories like it's the last one I'll hear.  I cuddle with them longer when they crawl into my bed, and hug those I love more tightly when I leave them now.   I TRY TO REMEMBER....LOVE THEM LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW.  Every single day is a brand new gift that we get to open....appreciate it and cherish it.   

My brother-in-law and nephews (Craig, Levi, and Matthew) made a beautiful film about this very thing (featuring Sam, Kaylie's dad... and Abby and Brooke, Kaylie's sisters) called CHERISH EVERY MOMENT.  I can't seem to find it on YouTube yet, but when they get it on there, I'll let you know.  It's worth watching!  And very well done.

And please pray for Sam and April today.  If you would like to leave them a note, just click their link on my sidebar and leave a comment on their blog.   Today will be a hard day for them.