For Tricia (& Nate)!

If you're wondering, "Who's Tricia & Nate?" then you haven't heeded my earlier advice to check them out HERE.

So Tricia (and Nate), here's my list I wrote to our little girl in honor of her 2nd birthday...and here's also a special poem for all moms (using Nate's words I "bumped" them from two of my previous posts!) Tricia, I pray that your list(s), writings, and ramblings of love & adoration will fill up rather quickly (and I know they will) because of sweet Gwenyth and her precious Daddy. I pray that you can cherish each step of the amazing journey of parenthood. There is nothing like it on Earth and nothing that can bring you into a whole new understanding of our Father and His Love like a child can. Like many others who have posted, I am constantly in prayer for you and your dear family. You are such an inspiration! Love, Mandy

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I love the fact that I have a daughter (actually two daughters now) whom I thought I would never have. I love watching her face light up and hearing her shrill as her Daddy walks through the door. I love the fact that she's a Daddy's girl through and through...that she will never have to doubt of our Father's love for her because of the example she has here on Earth. I love how sassy she can be. I love that she can already hold her own in a crowd. I love that she is sensitive. I love that she sucks her thumb and has a beloved blanket. I love that she loves to play in the dirt with trucks and cars while holding and caring for her babydoll. I LOVE her laugh. I love her curls. I love her eyes. I love her insaitable appetite...and that she never lets others go hungry, either! I love her love for reading and hearing her call, "Read book me!" as she comes down the hall with 4-5 books in her arms. I love that she loves brushing her little chicklet teeth. I love watching her love on her little sister. I love watching her imitate her older brother. I love hearing her sing (and singing with her). I love hearing her sing herself to sleep at night. I love that she can't fall asleep without us praying with her and everyone giving/getting a kiss. I love her little handprints all over my newly-cleaned walls. I love the mere fact that the love of a little 2-year-old girl enamores so many hearts and brings so much joy into so many lives without even being aware of it and without even trying. I love that she (along with her brother and sister) has taught--and continues to teach-- me more about God's love and about my being His child than anything else in my life. I love being her Momma.

And I can't imagine our lives without her.

11.2.2007
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Before I was a Mom
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom
I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put
him or her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't
stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could instantly love someone so much.
I could never have known I would love being a Mom this much.

Before I was a Mom
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so
important and happy.

Before I was a Mom
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes
to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,
the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much more...before I was a Mom.

~Unknown