I had a friend. Her name was Julie. We had a really unique friendship. We didn't call each other every day, even though we were next door neighbors, but we knew we had a bond. She called us Lugie sisters because we discovered we both had Lithuanian heritage. We had disagreements. So what. Doesn't everyone? She was beautiful. A little crazy, a little over the top, and she was my friend. I am glad to have known her. Glad to have spent so many crazy moments with her. She loved her family. HARD! She actually loved everyone who needed love HARD! I admired her and yet I could be jealous of her. I got mad at her and wondered what to do the make it ok. She glowed at times and hid from everyone at times. She had a husband named Rick. He adored her. It showed. He smiled in her presence. Her two sons, I am sure will never be the same. I hope they will always remember the things their mother taught them. Julie had cancer. When she went through the treatments, she was up. She made everyone else think it was ok....It wasn't....But from the time she found out, she made everyone else think it was ok. She always told her boys they were special. What a nice thing to grow up thinking. I will always be appreciative for the time I had with Julie. I hope in her heart she felt the same way. She is an angel now. God is lucky to have her with him. We will certainly miss her here on earth. The moments we had that drove us apart, are stopped in time now, to relish the fun and fabulous times we had in our crazy neighborhood together. Julie, I hope our last conversation we had together, was as important to you as it was to me. Hill Court is not the same, will never be the same, and is very sad tonight.

Ava Katherine Vinson....daughter of Christopher and Jessica Vinson

Her name is Ava. She is beautiful. She is sweet. She was ours and now she is gone. She is in a place we all want her to be....But we want her here with us! We were not ready for this! We need to turn back time! She is in heaven and God is with her. She was so small and yet the memory of her is so huge. It hurts.....

How are we to fathom the loss of a beautiful child? What is there to do? How do we go on? I can't even imagine the deepness of the grief, the emptiness of the soul. Whether you have them for twenty years, two years...a minute, they were still yours, you wanted them to be yours forever, and you are not, absolutely NOT ready to let them go. And yet you must. You don't get to be the one to decide. It is not fair, it is not right, it is hurtful. But in your heart you know where they are and who is taking care of them now. You know now that happiness and light is all that surrounds them, a gentle hand and spirit is with them at all times. But your heart still hurts, you feel an ache you can't describe. God is with you to help you get through the worst. But how can you just let go? Let God have his way? Those are answers only a parent who has lost a child can answer. I imagine there has to be much soul searching and prayer. Many days of waiting for the pain to get alittle better, the void in your heart to fill. You will never forget, you will always be ever mindful of the presence you had in your home for however long you had them. But in time peace will come, and remembering will hurt less. You will start to hear people talking again, you will enjoy laughter and love again. I can only imagine this because it is not me. But I am here, and so are many others ready to lift a hand to help. Time is such a great healer. People say that... I hope they are right.