Trek’s friend Wylder who also had Niemann Pick Type A passed away this week. He was 3 years old and left this earth snuggled between his mama and daddy. His mama recorded his beautiful life here.
It was a really hard few days for me since his death was so soon after our sweet Trek’s. I mourned deeply for Wylder and in a way it freed me to mourn even deeper for Trek. I was able to empathize fully with Wylder’s mama and daddy, by doing that I saw myself as I saw them, and I was free to feel with the same freedom I gave to them.
Wylder’s loving and devoted mama-Shannon
Wylder and his awesome daddy, Steven
We wanted to celebrate Wylder and the beautiful life he lived in a special way since he is such a special little boy. We went down to the local market and stocked up on toys and candy. In our travels through the Laos countryside we have seen many half-naked little children running around, and we knew they would love some new toys. We knew that was the perfect way to honor Wylder by giving joy and fun to little boys and girls and sharing some of his beautiful spirit.
stylish, handsome, sweet, and super cool Wylder!
We have been waiting for the monsoon rains to stop for a few days so we could head out for our family celebration. This morning we saw the sunshine peeking through the clouds and we knew today was the day! We hopped on our motorbikes and headed across the bridge.
After we passed some beautiful rice fields we came across 6 little children selling rambutan fruit. We bought a bag full, gave them a huge tip and handed out trucks, airplanes, candy, and lollipops. They were having so much fun, almost as much as we were! They were so excited and sweet, telling us “kap chai”, which is “thank you” in Lao with the biggest smiles on their faces. We made sure they all had the same amount and that the girls got the pink colored trucks and we headed down the road. We had so many toys left we could not wait to find more little children to give them to!
getting the trucks and airplanes out
the little girl holding her little brother was so sweet and made sure he got the same amount of presents as everyone else did
beautiful little girl
so happy
About 1 km later we saw 3 little boys walking towards us. We pulled over and we were not prepared for the fun that was to follow! Within seconds children were pouring out of their houses from every direction racing towards us. They must have smelled the candy! Peyton and Conner stepped up to the plate and ran around making sure everyone got a truck and candy. At one point, there was a slight mob around Conner for the lollipops and then I heard him yell above the crowd, “everybody gets one!”, I had a good laugh. We then picked out the most responsible looking little girl and gave her the bin and she understood that she was now in charge of making it fair, she did a top notch job. We were all giggling and laughing and so happy to be out celebrating sweet Wylder. It was such a beautiful moment with the sun shining and the blue skies and happy children jumping around so excited to get some new toys all because of a very special little boy named Wylder.
showing off their new toys
cute little girl sprinting down the hill!
she made it!
conner getting mobbed for the yummy lollipops-hehe
mission accomplished! spreading a little bit of Wylder’s love around the world
We love you Wylder James Laffoon! Thank you for teaching us how precious and beautiful life is.
Wylder, we wish we could have meet you and kissed your soft cheeks and rubbed your super sexy movie star hair and swam in your pool with you. We wish you and Trek had grown big and strong and got to play on the beaches of Maui together. After we handed out all of the presents you inspired us to buy, Jarrett looked up to the sky and said, “Wylder we love you”.
We love you so much Wylder!
May 15, 2009-July 20, 2012
Chelsea and Jarrett…..what an absolutely amazing moment in time to honor sweet Wylder! I just know he was beaming with joy from up above and precious Trek was right there with him saying, “Hey, check out my family….just how cool are they!!!!!” I am so moved by this “Pay it Forward” tribute to Warrior Wylder James. xoxoxoxox Blessings to you and your family!
thank you so much Leslie, we like to think of Wylder and Trek hanging out together too, it gives me a little peace. much love, Chelsea
What a great way to celebrate sweet Wylders life ~ those children faces said it all. Celebrating and joy rolled into one, they looked like their xmas had come early. Such a fantastic way to say goodbye. RIP sweet Wylder xxx
thank Lisa, it was one of the funnest things we have ever done! the children were so precious, i wanted to give them the world.
What an amazing life you lead and what a wonderful, thoughtful way to celebrate Wylder. I was moved to tears at the pure happiness those children felt in honor of the Warrior. Amazing!
thank you so much Jill, it made me teary too, i wish it was for another reason besides sweet Wylder’s death, but it was nice to be able to celebrate him in such a fun way.
What a beautiful, beautiful tribute to sweet Wylder! I cried when I saw the pure joy & happiness on the faces of those precious little children. And what an amazing lesson for Peyton and Conner:) Jarrett and Chelsea, you are so thoughtful & I know Shannon & Steven were moved by your celebration for their precious little angel. Miss and love all of you.
thanks mama, i cry everytime i re-read the post:) it was a very special day
All I can say is “Ditto” to what your Mama said!
thanks aunt jalene:)
wow that brought tears of joy to my eyes and what a perfect and beautiful way to celebrate a perfect and beautiful boy!! How special that your boys get to be a part of such neat and special days all over the world..they have hearts of gold. What joy you all brought to those precious kids:) love you guys and thanks for sharing! Love you too Wylder, wish I could have met you too!
thanks amanda, it was very eye opening for the boys, we saw the children playing with a broken umbrella, so they could not wait to give them a toy:)
That was so cool for your family to do that for sweet Wylder!!!!
thanks Patti-xoxo
Love this! What a fun way to celebrate!
thank you Bristelle,it was so much fun!
You are all amazing!! All those kids smiles were priceless. And what gift are you giving your boys, the best gift of giving. Your boys are the luckiest, happiest, boys. You and your husband are amazing… I’m just speechless
Amanda
that means so much to me Amanda. i agree the smiles were priceless:)
Thank you so much Ingram family!!! This just made my heart melt …. Spreading joy from wylder across the globe. You are the most amazing family and share in both out grief and joy. We love you all so very much and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for celebrating Wylder’s life this very special way!!!
you are so welcome Shannon, it was the least we could do.
I am speechless and full of tears…what a beautiful tribute to remember a sweet and beautiful little boy! I am a teacher and it gives me great joy to see children so happy and full of joy…thank you for sharing such a special day with all of us. You all continue to inspire me in all you do and all you are:)
thank you Jannette, and thank you for being a teacher! I saw a post today saying “summer break, a parent’s reminder to love teachers even more” or something like that:) hehe. it was such a special day to see all their sweet smiles and to send some love up to Wylder and his family.
What a creative and incredibly sensitive way to honor little Wylder! How beautiful that other children found joy and a caring connection with each of your family as they did. It is like a lovely footprint from you and Wylder left in each little child’s heart. I can only imagine how much this must mean to his family.
I am sure it is also deeply comforting for them to know that you empathize so profoundly and care so deeply. Having friends like you will surely ease their pain as they go through the devastation that you are also experiencing. Sending much love and prayers to both of your families.
Although I do not know you guys in person, I hope so much that you can feel the support of the many people who care about you around the world (like me.)
thank you esther and truthfully we CAN feel the love and support! we have felt so empowered by all of the kindness poured on us, I think so often how much harder this would have been without all of the support. It really has eased our pain a little and it feels so good to give that back a little to Wylder and his family-we love them so much.
Wow!!! Thank you Ingram family with all our hearts. To say this is a special and most perfect way to celebrate our wylder’s life is such an understatement. You have made our hearts sing!!! We love you all. Xoxo
you are so welcome, we think of you guys all of the time.
What a lovely way to honor his life.
Hurting for your family and his family here in Arizona. But also celebrating the time that you were able to have together.
thank you so much Stephanie-xoxo
Wow..just wow!!You truly inspire me, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. In the midst of your own grief you still managed to make others smile! What an amazing amazing lesson you are teaching your children in the process. Thank-you for sharing your journey with us each and every day and God Bless!!
thank you, it was such a special day and very special to share with our sons. xoxo
I could not have said it better than those above – what a wonderful way to celebrate sweet Wylder, Chelsea and Jarrett. Most wonderful of all is that you are teaching your sons to give of themselves as caringly as you do. You are awesome parents to such special children and fantastic friends to all. I think the Ingram family has discovered how to make heaven on earth!
thank you Cathy, your words are very kind and mean a lot to me. love ,Chelsea
I am moved to tears for Wylder’s family, for you, for the Lao children…your celebration was so special to read about! The little girl running (without any undies, innocent baby), oh I could scoop her up!! Thankyou for sharing your generous, wonderful hearts. Love it.
it was so special, i was so moved too. We also got such a kick out of that little girl! she ran so fast to us, it was so endearing. much love, Chelsea
What a perfect way to celebrate Wylder. And I bet that your kids will never forget this.
Beautiful! Every. Single. Part. Of It.! None of us know the number of our days, but all these little men lived them large by letting their lives be a huge blessing to their families and anyone else who was blessed to learn of them. Wylder was a handsome guy! I am so sorry for his family and their hearts and will be praying for them. At the same time, I look at those faces of children in Laos, and it’s a glimpse into what really matters: a life well lived, with meaning, purpose, laughter, determination, selflessness, and a whole lot of love. That’s the kind of love and life-living that changes the world! And you guys are doing it! xoxox
thank you so much Adrienne, it was such a special day celebrating a special boy with beautiful children
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What a precious gift to the children and to Wylder’s memory.
it was really special, thanks Liz-xoxo
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