Friday, February 26, 2010

Another tribute to Kayleigh

Kayleigh has always had a unique ability to reach out to people and touch them and they loved her for it. When she was just little, I would be in the grocery store and some total stranger would come up all excited and talking to Kayleigh and she would always know who they were, smile and talk to them and generally make their day. That didn't change any as she got older--she continued to touch people's hearts.
When she was in school here, her class would sell items from a ''snack cart" full of goodies that parents had donated. The money earned from this would let them take special trips and buy things they wanted for their classroom, etc. Well, the other day, I received, in the mail, a package from Kayleigh's teacher. I couldn't imagine what she would be sending me. When I opened it, it was a yearbook of their school. She had written a note that said that this year, they used their snack cart earnings to publish a yearbook and they dedicated it to Kayleigh. Everywhere there was a photo of her (and it was so good to see these photos that I had never seen before and see that awesome smile once again), it was noted that this yearbook was in memory of Kayleigh, and each one of her classmates had signed their photos. Her teacher said they still think of Kayleigh often and even though it's been over a year, they wanted to do something special to remember her. I can't even begin to tell you what that meant to me! Of course, it made me cry, but they were happy tears being able to see her in different photos and knowing how much she means to a lot of people. I am truly blessed to be her mother and what joy it is to know that we, as family, can always be her family if we always strive to be faithful, be diligent in keeping the commandments, and endure to the end. I know Kayleigh is near urging us on to be our best so we can always be an eternal family. She is still touching all our lives for good.
If I can ever get where I can pull up photos to post, I will post a photo of this yearbook so all of you can see it and have something more to add to your Kayleigh memories.
I love you, Kayleigh!!