As we sit here 2 months out from the date of the horrific events that took our sweet daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, cousin, and best friend, we all still struggle to wrap our head around the fact that she is no longer physically here with us daily. As we continue to grieve, I am reminded of a statement that a dear friend (a member of our framily) shared with us. “Nothing in life is free and grief is the cost of love. The fact that those who knew Hailey, loved her so much makes the cost exceptionally high.” Although we still struggle daily with questions for him, we could not have made it to this point in our grieving without our belief in God and the hope that he provides us through his son Jesus; the hope that we will one day see Hailey again. Hailey loved the Lord and believed this as well. While we may not feel like it was nearly long enough, we are so thankful that he blessed us to be her parents for just over 11 years.
God also blessed us with the support of family, framily, friends, our church family, and the greater community (local and beyond) whose support has carried us through this incredibly difficult time. We would like to thank everyone who has supported us through prayers, words of support, food, gifts, and generous donations.
For those who didn’t have the opportunity to meet Hailey but felt the call to support our family and Hailey’s cause, we wanted to share a bit about her. It is a struggle to find the words to describe Hailey. Hailey was truly one of a kind, her outside beauty shined, but it was her inner beauty that made her special. It might sound cliché, but those who knew her knows this to be true. She had the biggest heart and loved unconditionally. She desired to make every person she met feel special. Although she often suffered from headaches, she never failed to muster up the energy to greet everyone with a big smile, and whenever she could with a big heartfelt hug. She would go out of her way to complement people whether she knew them or not about anything big or small; there was not anyone or anything that would stop her when she felt compelled. She was a friend to many, but she yearned to help anyone in any way she could. She loved to share words of encouragement and found the way to offer them at precisely the right time. She loved to ask genuine questions; it allowed her to get to know you. It also might give her a random fact, which she liked to share. She so was brilliant, loved to laugh, sing, and obviously dance. Most of all she loved spending time as a family and the Lord.
Hailey was destined to make a huge impact on this world. As her parents we refuse to let Hailey’s name and legacy end on that day. We will be starting a foundation in Hailey’s name to serve the community. Funds donated through the GoFundMe as well as those sent to the family will go a long way to helping get that foundation started. Once details around the foundation are finalized, we will share an update here. From the bottom of our hearts, our family wants to thank you again for your prayers, gifts, and all-around support during this difficult time.
