ABOUT THIS PAGE

Today I went to watch a couple of innings of the Elks Santa Maria Valley Little League Baseball Championship game. Walking back to the truck I was crossing the soccer fields where Carter and Lexi had played. In my mind I drifted back to those special days watching them play and being at Jon's side as he coached. It reminded me what a blessing those days were, how much I miss them and how much I miss Lex. On the way home I pulled through Charlies to pick up dinner. As the car ahead of me was paying his bill I notice him holding a Project Lexi card. All could think was "Dooohhh, I don't have any cards with me". When I pull up to the window the cashier tells me "It's your lucky day", hands me the card and explains that the customer two cars ahead of me paid my bill. With my eyes tearing up I hand the card back to him, tell him that Lexi is my granddaughter and ask him if he knew the kind person that honored Lexi. He didn't. At that moment there were no other customers in Charlies for me to pay it forward, along with the fact that I had all of four dollars in cash with me. Fortunately the cashier worked with me to put an order on my debit card to apply toward the next customer. Before driving away I hand the Project Lexi card back to the cashier and give him my Project Lexi wristband to pass along as well. I shake his hand tell him "Thank you very much". Thank you to the person who paid my bill to honor Lexi, thank you to the man in the car ahead of me who passed it along to me. Today's chain of events made my day. As Lexi said "I am so lucky".

Charlotte's web was my favorite childhood book. I loved the story that despite Wilburs intended fate, he continued to be joyful and help all the critters around him. Like Wilbur, Lexi was a beacon of joy the minute I met her. It's not suprising given she inhereted her vivaciousness from Lisa and her resilliance through adversity, from Jon. This little girl demonstrated to my daughters and I how important it is to keep smiling, never give up and trust in God. We never know God's plans, but Lexi taught us all to make the best of life and enjoy every day we are gifted.

I teach at Pacific Christian School and we have many students who knew Lexi. We all prayed for her healing and for her family. As Lexi's service approached, we decided to decorate our campus in purple in her honor. Many people gathered to help, and as we chatted, we found that most of us had not met her although we loved her. There were many people who honked as they drove by, waving and yelling, "We love Lexi!" One person stopped and asked where they could send flowers. Another person walked up and asked if they could donate food for her service. I was amazed at the difference a young girl had made in our community, bringing out the best in people. Too often we hear negative things! Lexi made us all better with her life and her smile!