Friday, September 26, 2008

Jaiden's 9th Birthday & Our First Annual Golf Tournament

VISIT OUR WEBSITE TO SEE THE SLIDESHOW OF PHOTOS!
In a word, it was amazing. We had 110 golfers and about 30 more people who joined us after golf for the dinner celebration. We had 2 tables full of raffle items, and one table full of silent auction items. We also sold Jaiden’s Angel T-shirts. It was so nice to see so many people wearing their shirts that day.

The day began a bit overcast, which is actually perfect golfing weather. We assembled goody bags for all the golfers with beautiful print outs thanking all the sponsors, scented candles, bottle opener key-chains, assorted coupons and 2 golf balls with Jaiden’s Angel and the words:

Jaiden’s Angel
Sept 22, 2008

We all assembled in a long line on our golf carts and then the day began. At each hole, we placed a sponsor’s placard. Many of our sponsors choose to write special messages to Jaiden. We are posting a slide-show with all the photos onto our website over the weekend. I will resend a link to our site once this is done.

Paul and I golfed with Wendy and Frank, our very dear friends and Jaiden’s God-Parents. As the day wore on, the sun broke through and it was absolutely beautiful. This course is really amazing- wait until you see the photos!

As we exited the course into the tents where the dinner celebration was to be served, we were greeted by our 3 other children- Gage (3), Aspen (6) and Alexeigh (15).

We enjoyed an incredible meal of BBQ ribs, chicken, homemade beans and potato salad and assorted desserts. Then we had the kids come up (my 2 nieces and another family friend were also there for dinner) to help draw the raffle tickets and announce the tournament winners.

Before we made any such announcements, I read the story of the Angel’s Smile. I had a hard time getting through it, and I could see people crying in the audience as well, but I was so glad I got to share the story and the meaning behind our logo.

One contest we had was a 50/50 where you paid $5 to put into a certain hole. IF you got your ball in, your name went into a basket. Normally there are several names that go in, but we only had one person actually get the ball in! When we called him up to receive his share (half of the $430 raised), he refused to take it and he donated it back to the foundation. Ironically enough, this person went onto win about 3-4 more raffles AND he was on the first place team! Must have been good karma… The next morning he also placed an order on our website for 3 more t-shirts.

So in the middle of the raffles, my cousin Jodie came up to the microphone. She told the audience she had a special gift that she wanted to give me in front of everyone. She went onto say “Some of you may not know it, but at Holleigh’s house, their Christmas tree still stands. They normally leave it up until around March or April; but after this year, I don’t think it will ever come down. I saw the most amazing ornament, and I wanted to get it for Jaiden’s 9th Birthday.”

Then she presented me with a gorgeous white seashell ornament with a single pearl inside that read:
“Every life leaves something beautiful behind.”

The rest of the day at the course was a blur. We delivered all the raffles and closed out all the silent auctions; and by then all the corporate folks and strangers had left. When it was just our close friends and family, we went onto the course and release blue and white balloons for Jaiden, just as the sun was setting. It was the perfect ending to a very special day.

On our drive home, we made a wrong turn and ended up going the ‘long way’ through our town center. This turned out to be yet another gift from Jaiden. As we drove in the dark (it was not 7:45), I looked up to see in beautiful bright lights this message on the (KARS) Kincaid's auto repair shop marquee sign.
Remembering Jaiden Lyndi Tlapa
September 22, 1999

Then just about 50 years later on the Pasta Loft yet another sign:
Happy Birthday Angel Jaiden

Humble Pie and Early learning Center also had signs out for Jaiden. I felt the tears running down my face at that point. They were truly a mixture of tears of sadness and joy. I was filled with pride knowing so many people remembered our Jaiden. Seeing her name in lights at the end of the day was truly inspiring for us.

As we drove onto our street, we were greeted by one of Jaiden’s best friends (Mary) and her family. They were walking down to give us a gift- it was a beautiful hand painted dolphin sun-catcher. Then my niece Geena came over to present us with a book of poetry in which the poem she had written for Jaiden was published.

We went to bed with heavy hearts but peaceful spirits. In the morning, we discovered yet another surprise. Friends had left 2 trays of gourmet desserts, a gorgeous angel plaque with flowing wings intertwined with flowers that read “Angels Welcome Here” and a gift bag filled with all the makings for espresso martinis. My friends Lori and Linda have been talking about taking a hike into the woods to remember Jaiden and having an espresso martini. There was a blue blanket, a decanter, all the ingredients and 3 plastic martini glasses.

One final blessing came that night when Jaiden’s 3rd best friend Maddie stopped by with her family. She brought a special card she wanted to send Jaiden in Heaven. It was attached to 3 balloons. We all went out to Jaiden’s garden and sang happy birthday to her. As Maddie released the balloons- they traveled west, which is the normal way released balloons travel at our house. But they only traveled west enough to clear the trees. Jaiden’s garden is on the edge of the woods. As soon as the topped the trees, they cut back and began traveling east, high into the sky. We watched them for a long time, they seemed to be reaching higher than any balloons I can recall releasing.

If we had to experience Jaiden’s birthday without her, I could not image a more meaningful or special way to have spent it.

Here is a link to the articles that ran about the tournament. It was a tremendous success by the way- we raised much more than we thought, and I believe everyone who attended was truly touched by the spirit of our Angel Jaiden.

PLEASE SAVE THE DATE next year ~ Tuesday, September 22, 2009;
for our 2nd Annual Jaiden's Angel Golf Tournament

Two beautiful articles were written, each one truly captures the essence of the day.
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Tuesday, September 9, 2008

The story behind the Angel's Smile...

I wanted to share this with you all. It was a gift given to us the day of Jaiden's private service. My neighbor Joelle wrote the story. It tells how the image of Jaiden's Angel was created.

We will treasure it forever, and it makes me believe that Jaiden tuly was on earth; and always wil be, an Angel from above.

To the Tlapa family and for Jaiden,
Our dear friend and angel
With all of our love,Joelle, Don and Addison

Dear Holleigh and Paul:

Jaiden, Aspen, Mary and Addison created this beautifulmural on one of our picture windows with glass crayons.
It is a work of art that we admire every day. I’ve been wanting to share it with you and wasn’t quite sure how…
You are welcome to come and see it anytime. And, fortunately, Kenny was able to capture the light-filled images on his digital camera for you, too.

























Once upon a time, there was a little sprite – a blond haired, light-filled spirit who lived here on earth.

She was always so full of life and joy. Everyone in her presence sensed her light.

The children who lived nearby loved to play with the sprite. She always knew how to have fun and enjoy each and every moment.

One day the little sprite noticed that there were newcomers moving into the neighborhood’s hilltop. She was so excited that she ran to tell her mother, father, sisters and little brother –
she could not wait to welcome the new family. So one day soon after, she went, along with her mother and little sister and another neighborhood friend, to greet the newcomers.

The new family was so happy to have such welcoming, kind neighbors; they were all very thankful.

And how the new little girl from the hilltop loved to play with the little sprite! The sprite was always so full of spunk and had such fun ideas. When the little sprite and little girl played, they were sure to include the sprite’s little sister and their other good friend who lived nearby. The four of them loved to play – they played inside; they explored outside; they built imaginary houses; they found a perfect climbing tree. They ran and sang and laughed.

One glistening day shortly after Thanksgiving, a beautiful snow had covered the land. The four friends were playing on the hilltop, inside the cozy house. “Let’s draw a beautiful winter picture!” they agreed. And they soon went to work.

One friend drew a landscape with lots of snow, a frozen pond, a house, and a family of snowmen. Another drew, above that, the clouds with stars and Saint Nicholas flying his sleigh. The sprite’s little sister just watched, enjoying the scene.

The sprite was so excited to add to the drawing she could barely wait. But then it was finally her turn. And there, in the starry sky, she carefully drew a beautiful angel – watching over the house below. She looked at the angel, paused, and then added a smile to the angel’s face.

The friends admired the picture …smiled at the sprite … and then, all together, they ran off to play.

(Mary tells me that after Jaiden added the smile, she turned to her friends and said "Perfect!)

Angel of ours, Jaiden,
we love you so
Your laugh, your joy
Your zest for life
You are our friend
Our friend for life

Angel of ours,
we love you so

And now it’s hard
Without you here
How we do miss you
Your smile so dear

Angel of ours,
we love you so

You taught us all
How to live and love
With strength and courage
And trust in God above

Angel of ours,
we love you so

So please know this
Our Angel dear
We will never forget
What you gave us here

Angel of ours,
we love you so
And although you live now
In heaven’s heights
We’ll cherish your spirit
For all of our lives

For dear Jaiden,
we love you so
We hope you know
just how much so.
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