For the longest time, I thought I was one of the only people that Kasie was really committed to sharing her time with. I knew she had tons of friends and kept a social calendar that even made me tired ( which is hard to do) but she called ME all the time. She visited ME all the time and she attended MY girls ball games and family functions. If she spent that much time with ME, then how did she have time for everyone else?

I attended a conference one time and heard someone speak about relationships. He said that people are like legos. Some people do real well being a four connector lego. They can sucessfully mangage about 4 relationships at one time in their life. He said that some people were like 6 connector legos and some could manage even a few more. Jesus himself was a 12 lego kind of man, investing the majority of His time into 12 people, his disciples. I was reminded of playing legos with Philip at the beach over this 4th of July. He would dump out the entire bucket of lego and away we build. I have to confess the first day this was difficult to me because I had design issues with a two year old but later in the week I saw the beauty of his creations. I thought about that bucket of legos that Philip dumped out like Kasie's life. She wasn't a 6 lego kind of person or even a 12 lego girl, she was the whole entire bucket. She could and did develop a relationship that made everyone feel special. I don't know how she had time for everyone like she did. Did she have a 52 hour day?

Kasie was that kind of person that brought value to your life. Within minutes of talking to you, she always complimented you on something or lifted your spirits. It came natural to her and people wanted to be around here. She brought so much joy and encouragement to my life that will be missed.

I broke my leg this summer and Kasie was determined to bring me dinner. She worked all day , went home and got Philip and headed out to my house to have dinner with me because she said, " You're my sister and you broke your leg and that just what I've got to do." I told her to stay home, it was late and raining and she was newly pregnant and tired. She insisted and off she came. ( Did I mention that she lives far side of Charlotte and I'm in Hickory?) She got caught in wreck traffic on 85 and I tried to convince her to turn around, but NO. She drove through horrible rains that knocked my power out but NO she wasn't turning around. She arrived at my dark house at 8:30PM during the middle of the work week and we ate take out together in the candlelight. Philip: " Your mommy called this a " DARK PARTY" so you wouldn't be scared. She was so creative. I did talk her into spending the night and leaving early the next morning for work and she did. She cared so much for me, that NO obstacle would keep her from coming. She loved me and she cared. She invested her time in my life!

I miss that! I will forever remember our Dark Party when we lose power and will celebrate those occasions by making the best of life. Kasie always did.

Shelley Sutton