My Baby Girl

She's 17!!!
Whitney & Emily

It doesn't seem like 17 years ago that I was hoping & praying for one more addition to our family!!! Actually, the hoping & praying begin long before that.

There were a couple of years of praying, buying EPT tests & being sad about the results. I begin to wonder why, tried not to get obsessed or depressed, and had decided the next month was time for a specialist when my doctor's nurse came out to the waiting room to tell me the blood test was positive. "Aren't you excited?" she asked. I guess I was so stunned & afraid of being disappointed after two negative home tests that I had a really blank look on my face. 9 1/2 months later we brought home all precious 6 lbs. 11 ounces of her. For the next couple of years she was decked out in more bows & ruffles than I could afford to buy, but I loved every minute of it! I can hardly believe how fast the time has flown by & that next year she'll be getting ready to fly the coop! The years in between have been full! She's kept me at ballgames as much as her brothers before her. She keeps me on the edge of my seat whether she's playing or cheering. She might look a little like I did at her age, but lucky for her she definitely got her Daddy's athletic skills. I sit amazed as she shoots three pointers, clears hurdle after hurdle, or back flips across the field ahead of the football team as they make their grand entrance on Friday nights. I assure you I have never done any of those things! Nope, not even a cartwheel! I am proud of the student she is, the leader at school & church, & all the good choices she is making, but most of all I'm just proud of her & the fine Christian woman she is becoming. When she was little she always wanted me to lay down with her at night & before she would go to sleep she would say, "If Jesus comes back I want our whole family to stay home." At first I tried to explain why we would want to go, but after about a year or two of this nightly routine I groggily began to respond "OK". How sweet to watch Jesus work on her heart through the years. How thankful I am that He sent her to live with me, and blessed to know that she belongs to Him.

I know that I'm a little late with this birthday post, but I wanted to wait until after she & her BFF, Emily had their birthday bash. It was so fun, but I have to say I'm kinda glad there are no big plans for this weekend. Of course, that's been known to change around here. Some of us don't like a dull minute!