Kara's fun-filled & interesting life...

 Tim and Kathy have reflected upon the 2 1/2 years we were blessed to be Kara's parents quite frequently over the past six months. When we think about all the beautiful memories and fun that we had with Kara, we cannot help but smile and be encouraged.  For those that have spent any time around Kara, you know that she was always on the move, and the life of the party!  We thought you might find it interesting to know all the great things that Kara was able to pack into her short life, and here is what came to mind....

Kara was quite the traveler.  She flew on an airplane 11 different times in just two years! Kara stayed overnight in the following 10 states: Oklahoma, where she was born; West Virginia, our home; Ohio, her grandparent's home; Virginia, her grandparent's home; Maryland, while camping; Pennsylvania, while camping; Georgia, because we missed our flight; North Carolina, to visit family; Rhode Island, to visit friends; and Florida, for vacations.

Kara loved the water--pools, ocean, and lake, and even bath time! Kara always enjoyed playing in the pool, and never seemed to fear water. She also didn't mind the salty water in the Gulf of Mexico, and would try and drink it while playing on the beach in Destin for two summers. Kara helped drive a boat with her daddy when we were in the bay in Destin. She felt so at home on a boat, that she fell asleep. That's saying a lot because Kara wasn't the type of child that fell asleep anywhere. Kara had a blast at Raystown Lake in Pennsylvania when we took a boat out to go tubing.

We started camping before Kara was born, and continued to go camping with her over the next two years. Kara was always excited about camping, and had so much fun playing on the playgrounds, swimming in the pools, going for walks, and riding in her little red wagon all over the campground.

We had the best 2 1/2 years with our Kara, and although we wanted many, many more years, we will never forget the time we did share with her. These great memories will carry us through until we are able to spend eternity with her in heaven.

We have included a bunch of pictures that represent all the great memories Kara had on her life's journey.

What did we do on Kara's 3rd birthday?

Today we went to the Martinsburg-Berkeley County Public Library. We met with Jane Levitan, the Librarian, to donate books we purchased in memory of Kara. As we have written on our first blog (http://karaannelang.blogspot.com), Kara loved looking at books, and being read to as often as possible. She could literally sit on the floor for 45 minutes to an hour pulling one book after another off of the shelf, turning each page, and intently looking at the pictures.  Kara also would sit on anyone's lap as long as they were willing to read to her. Below is the bookplate we designed that the library will place on the inside of the books we donate. The plan is to donate books every year on Kara's birthday to the local library wherever we may be living. Our angel, Kara, would have loved the books we donated to the library, and I'm sure she's very happy that other children will be enjoying new books.

Celebration of Kara's Life

On Friday, July 9th, we celebrated Kara's life with extended family.  We enjoyed eating Kara's favorite foods: pizza, strawberries, grapes, goldfish, chips, crackers, veggies & dips.  The delicious 'ladybug' cake with ice cream was our dessert.  We shared stories and memories of Kara, and wrote notes to her in heaven. We attached the notes to colorful helium balloons and released them into the sky. The sky was stormy, it started to rain, and the wind carried the balloons right up to heaven. Kara's cousins also enjoyed looking at the scrapbook Samantha made of Kara for us. It was a great celebration of our beautiful angel Kara.

Conference in Norfolk, Va

Tim and Kathy attended the Washington Field Division All-Hands conference in Norfolk, Va this week. The highlight of our four days away from home was eating good seafood, and walking on the beach in Virginia Beach. It was a beautiful night. These pictures were taken on Tim's IPhone.