• I gave my daughter 1001 kisses today instead of a 1000...
  The following message was sent from Vickie in West Virginia. She has a daughter named Taylor. She found this Web site while doing a search for "Taylor Alexis."

  I hope you know this has touched me so much. I gave my daughter 1001 kisses today instead of a 1000. Your daughter was always an angel, but now shes an angel that watches over you in a better place.
  

• I had only met Sally, Keith and Taylor a few times...
  I had only met Sally, Keith and Taylor a few times at get-togethers at the house of a mutual friend -- Jennie and Mike. I was deeply saddend to hear when Taylor was diagnosed with cancer. I cried right along with Jennie on the phone as a parent of a little girl.

  When Taylor passed away, I was very saddened by the life that was lost and for the grief the family was going through. I remember looking at my little girl and being extremely grateful for her. I took a step back and realized the laundry could wait, that the house could be a little messy, that the most important thing was that I spend some good quality time with my daughter. The one thought that kept going through my head was that The Knowles family had no idea at 3 years old that they would no longer have their little girl at 5 years old. And I thought to myself, "if I knew I only had a couple of years left to spend with my daughter, would I want to spend it telling her to hold on a minute while I cleaned the house or talked on the phone?"

  It really changed my mindset. I am reminded of this every time I hear Taylor's name. Although I did not know Taylor personally, she truly has inspired me to be a better mom and to live for today. When I received the email to view this Web site, it once again has reminded me to be thankful for what I have...I think I have slipped back into the mundane routine and tend to complain more than usual lately...but I am now reminded to see the light and let it shine.

  Thank you Sally and Keith for all you do, your strength and courage is truly an inspiration!
  

• I must tell you that we were profoundly affected...
  I must tell you that we were profoundly affected by the funeral. I was in such a bad mood for the whole week leading up to Saturday. Like everyone else, I just felt an awful feeling in my heart at Taylor's passing, especially with all that's happening now with the birth of our son.

  I just was blown away by Sally and Keith's words. I really felt a change come over me. I really took to heart what Keith was saying about complaining about the little things that are happening in life. I have always realized that I was a cynical person, but I guess I never realized who pervasive it was in my life and in the way I approached things.

  When Keith talked about how Taylor never complained about anything throughout her ordeal, I really felt embarrassed. When he talked about how today was the best day of his life, I felt ashamed at the things that I would constantly complain about. When he asked everyone to not be afraid to talk about Taylor, I felt weak and cowardly. The whole thing made me feel like I can really allow myself to be happy if I just learn to love the gifts that I've been given. It was like the song says; "It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got."

  I have known Keith for over 10 years. I honestly thought that he looked like he was touched by an angel. Even in the way that he greeted me at the cemetery. I was just amazed at his strength and peace and that gave me strength and peace.

  So I guess Taylor's life has influenced my life through her affect on her father. I really feel like things are different for me now. I think about that day and Taylor all the time. I pray for my little boy and I always say a little word for Taylor too. She was a special little girl and has really had an impact on the way I plan to live my life. I didn't know her all that well but will cherish the few special visits that we did have.

  Thanks to Keith and Sally for being such pillars of strength and for setting such an example for me and my family.
  

• I think I learned three big lessons from Taylor...
  I think I learned three big lessons from Taylor. Although I "knew" Taylor from preconception, I only saw her sporadically at birthdays and get togethers. As a matter of fact, I thought about her more often in the past four months than I did in her first 4 1/2 years. Since she was diagnosed, I prayed for her every night at bedtime, but more often it was in the middle of the night when I was up with my son because of an ear infection or something else that was keeping him awake. After a few nights of sleeplessness and a very cranky child, I could easily be frustrated that he was awake again, but instead I thought of Taylor and the both of you. I thought, "I get to hold this child who is calling for me because he knows I can make him feel better." I thought, "Taylor and her parents are doing the same thing every minute of every day and never complain." And finally I thought, "it's a privelege to be able to be with him and know this too will pass when Taylor's might not." She gave me much more patience and perspective on the every day bumps in the road and a better appreciation for what I have with Jack.

  The second thing I learned from Taylor was that growing older makes you more cynical and less open to life's possibilities. Although she finally succombed to the tumor, she kept everyone believing the entire time. I left the prayer service she attended with Patch thinking, "I'm wrong, she really can be healed." When she returned from Houston looking better than she did in the few days before she left, I left your house thinking, "Wow. Her will to live is amazing." I think about her when I have aches and pains and feel like complaining and I think about her when I have a hard time putting my faith in something that doesn't seem possible.

  The third thing I learned from Taylor (and Keith at the funeral) was that every day may be your last. I sort of tried to live by that since my father died. If I hadn't taken the time to say goodnight and tell him I loved him the day before he died, I would've regretted it to this day. But sometimes I forget. As a matter of fact the night before the funeral was another tough sleeping night in a long string of bad nights for my son. My husband and I were fighting and we went to bed angry. When Keith addressed that in his eulogy we apologized to each other right there and afterwards we agreed to stop being stubborn and defensive and to have a signal to each other when things are getting too negative. The next day there was a vase of flowers on the table for me :) Our house has been much happier with the new Taylor rules in place.

  Not only was Taylor amazing but you are both amazing too. I know that you got through this because she's your daughter and you love her and it's just what you do, but you got through it with extra special grace and compassion. It was a reflection of what is in your souls -- all three of you. I'm happy to be your friend. And like a friend wrote to me when my dad died (and I've never forgotten it), "It feels good to have everyone around you during these difficult times, but it is when they've gone back to their jobs and their lives that it can get very lonely. Call me a week, a month, a year or ten years from now when the moments of sadness strike you and you don't want to feel alone. I'll listen." I take her up on it and I'm offering it to you too. Much love.
  

• Keith and Sally's devotion to their child was an inspiration...
  Keith and Sally's devotion to their child was an inspiration of the human will and commitment to do everything in their power to make her comfortable as she did what she came to the earth to do. Taylor was one of God's angels showing us how to love one another and is now resting in Jesus' healing hands in heaven. This I do believe.

  Keith and Sally have also touched my life in showing me how faith, courage and love are part of the human experience and how a little five year old girl named Taylor can instill that knowingness into all of us.
  

• I constantly picture Taylor and my son holding hands...
  I constantly picture Taylor and my son holding hands in Heaven and always smiling. I'm very sure they are really happy enjoying life without discomfort or limitations. They are free like 2 little birds flying around us.

  There is something else. Every morning you and Sally will feel a soft delightful breeze in your cheek. That is Taylor saying "good morning" with a kiss. Be happy for her. In her five years, she reached a state of perfection that we probably won't be able to accomplish in a whole life time. We have angels in heaven waiting and making arrangements for us when it's our time to go home.
  

• A couple of weeks ago, my son stood outside after...
  A couple of weeks ago, my son stood outside after Tae Kwon Do...after singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star out the window to Taylor on our way home...and spun around in circles with his arms out and stopped and pointed in amazement. He said that the stars moved into the shape of one big star and that Taylor did that!

  My other son had to bring his favorite story to school for show and tell and retell the story using something called the Braidy method. He chose A Fish Out of Water...the one that you gave him for his birthday. When asked why it was special...Taylor gave it to me and it was one of her favorites was his answer. I don't think that I ever expected that the boys would forget, but I am continually touched and amazed at how everpresent Taylor is in their minds and in their lives. I guess that that is part of the miracle of Taylor Knowles.
  

Amazing Stories

• A few weeks after Taylor was diagnosed with her tumor...
  A few weeks after Taylor was diagnosed with her tumor (this would put us in the latter half of March), I took her brother Jacob for the day up to my mom's house in Suffield. We stayed there most of the day and returned in the early evening so I could drop him off and go home. After getting there, Taylor and Sally called me into the living room. Taylor had spent a good amount of time making me a picture. It was a picture of my mom walking their (my parents) two dogs at their house. Taylor drew my parents house, the dogs, and my mom. Accross the top of the house stretching from one side of the picture to the other was a rainbow. I took the picture home that evening and basically held onto the picture until Taylor's wake and funeral where we put it on display.

  One night in mid August while sending out resumes and looking at job opportunities over the Internet my thoughts turned to my niece as they do every now and then. I remember feeling sad but can't specifically recall why. If you were to sit at my desk and sit straight ahead at about 11 o'clock there is a framed picture of Taylor on my desk. I was sitting slumped in my chair, mired in my melancholy thoughts and staring at her picture. Something made me look to the right of her picture (which would be 12 o'clock). What caught my eye was a formation in the wall. Keep in mind that the one thing that Taylor left me with was that picture so everytime I think of her I think of the picture. What was on the wall that caught my attention was half of the arch of what could be interpreted as a rainbow without the colors of course. For those of you who haven't seen her picture, the rainbow is really the centerpiece of her picture and what stands out the most. What I just wrote happened in a space of seconds mind you! I was thinking of Taylor, looked at her picture, looked at the wall and saw the arch.

  Thank you Taylor
  

• I was driving back from NY with a guy I work with...
  I was driving back from NY with a guy I work with. We were on the Mass Pike just heading into Springfield. It was a Friday night and it was raining. I don't remember what I was thinking of at the time but I looked at the road in front of us and there was simply the most complete, beautiful, and radiant rainbow that stretched clear over the City of Springfield. From clear North of the city to the CT border. It looked like a good 25 miles apart from its two points. You can naturally guess what I immediately thought of.
  
• The other morning I came out of my room...
  The other morning I came out of my room and did something that is not uncommon for me. I'll walk through my living room to the front porch and stretch to get a breath of fresh air to start the day. As I made my way through the living room I noticed that some pictures that I have on the fireplace mantle had been blown off by the wind onto the floor. Although there was more than one picture blown off the fireplace there was one with Taylor and Grandma that was the only one facing upwards. I didn't think anything of it at the moment.

  As I walked towards my front window I noticed something I had never seen before. There were literally what seemed like thousands of birds on my front lawn and the lawns to the left of my house and the right of the house. The lawns were covered with birds -- not just a few, it was like the lawns were blanketed. Again, like the rainbow I could only think of one thing and that was the stories about Taylor and the birds at your house in West Hartford.
  

• Interesting story...my neighbor...
  Interesting story...My neighbor went to Taylor's wake. She picked up a prayer card and brought it home. On Sunday, she came over to show me that her kids had gotten hold of the card and bent it. She was so upset and mad at them. When she looked at it, it had folded right across her shoulder and the lamination became detached and it created a pair of wings! She looked like a beautiful angel -- we both cried. She truly is a little angel.

  I'm not sure if I have a story, but I can tell you that it was nice to meet your family as we travel on this journey. I thought that you both were incredibly strong through this and it did help me a lot. I admired Taylor's ability to know what she wanted at 5.