Out of this World.

In Loving Memory of Jace Burgess.

"We are home now, out of this world"

Oil on unprimed

3ft x 4ft

2010

Artist: Daniel Gulick

Never forget & never stop praying for Justice for Jace !

maybe it is the fact that i was abused that Jace's story holds a special place in my heart.

maybe it was because i'd met this amazing little boy and knew his family, not all of them, and not all of them well, but enough to know their hearts and characters.

whatever reason it is, i have not gone one day since hearing the news that he was in the hospital without thinking or praying for and of him or his family for the bulk of my day.

i was already on a path of fulfillment, to change specific patterns in behaviors to make life better for my ladies. so they did not have to endure, see, or hear any more of a life that i grew up in, married into, and brought into my home. 

Jace is special. His family is the epitome of what i wish i could provide for my daughters and someday i may get that chance. until then, my friends will continue to be my supplemental family-the lucky dogs! tonight, they did the drawing for the painting that a very special man did to remember Jace. i never win anything, and leslie pulled my name out of the box! i wanted to run down like i was on the price is right!!!

this painting holds a special place in my heart. i already know where it will go, and i am excited to have the opportunity to be able to cherish this beautiful piece of artwork. even though i don't need to look at it to think of Jace or his family, it is nice to look at it, and see that it is significant to the journey that Jace has, and that we all will make one day. to be home...out of this world...

Jace & Leslie & Family have made me slow down and look at what i have and cherish it.

to look at my daughters and say yes, it IS okay to sit in my lap for a few even though you are SO big and it's SO hot. my mother never did enjoy that.

to look at my little friends and hold them a bit longer, take that extra time. i am already good at what i do, but spoiling every once in a while isn't that bad, is it? i don't think so.

to say YES you can have that oreo before dinner instead of harp on how they didn't eat their green beans.

for the first time since my ladies were babies, i allowed them to crawl into my bed without immediately taking them back to their own.

to turn off the computer, the tv, & the phones and say yes girls, it is time for us to do something together.

So Thank You Jace, Leslie, Stacey, Stan, Peggy, Nancy, & Andrew

you all showed me what a family is, and should be for one another. in good times, and in the hard times. and you taught me that even though i am teaching my girls independence and self-reliance, i can still let loose long enough to teach them something i was never taught:

Family Togetherness.

Donations to the Jace Burgess Funeral Fund
Donations can be made at any local Arvest Bank or mailed to:
Arvest Bank at 1515 S. Utica Ave, Tulsa, OK 74114 c/o Jace Burgess Funeral Fund.