Relay for Life

I wanted to stop a moment and share some pictures from the last two years worth of Relay For Life that we have participated in. Last year we walked in Newberg and this year we walked in Sherwood.

In the pictures from this year, you'll see Shaylee's "In Honor of" bag we made for her. You might notice the butterfly, and the quote "She's a butterfly, God bless the butterfly". This is a quote from what we've deemed "Shaylee's Song" - "She's a Butterfly" by Martina McBride

She's A Butterfly - by Martina McBride
(CD: Martina)

She remembers when she first got her wings
And how she opened up
the day she learned to sing

Then the colors came,
erased the black and white
And her whole world changed
when she realized

She's a butterfly,
pretty as the crimson sky
Nothing's ever gonna bring her down
And everywhere she goes
Everybody knows
she's so glad to be alive

She's a butterfly
Like the purest light
in a darkened world
So much hope inside
such a lovely girl

You should see her fly,
it's almost magical
It makes you wanna cry,
she's so beautiful

She's a butterfly,
pretty as the crimson sky
Nothing's ever gonna bring her down
And everywhere she goes
Everybody knows
she's so glad to be alive

She's a butterfly
God bless the butterfly
Give her the strength to fly
Never let her wings touch the ground
(God bless the butterfly)
God bless the butterfly
Give her the strength to fly

Never let her wings touch the ground
Oh, she's a butterfly,
pretty as the crimson sky
Nothin's ever gonna bring her down

And everywhere she goes
Everybody knows
she's so glad to be alive
She's a butterfly
She's a butterfly
She's a butterfly
God bless the butterfly
Give her the strength to fly
Never let her wings touch the ground
(God bless the butterfly
God bless the butterfly
Give her the strength to fly
Never let her wings touch the ground


The very first time I heard this song, I was in tears. To me, it spoke so much of Shaylee. Of her journey through chemo, of her starting to "live again" after she finished. It just FIT. The first time Shaylee heard that song she fell in love with it. Those of you who know Shaylee know, she's always had a love of butterflies. Her words when she heard the song were "Mommy! That butterfly song...thats ME!" No one told her, no one shared with her the feelings we had about that song, she just KNEW. To this day, she has supersonic hearing about that song. She can be in a completely different room, but that song comes on and she comes racing out to sing and dance. Without fail.

Isn't it amazing how a song can touch our hearts, and sometimes even SPEAK our hearts?

God bless the butterfly.