God Knew We Needed Her...

My first pregnancy was rough, I'll admit it.  I've written about it, before.  Sick.  Sick.  Sick.  Newlyweds, just getting to know each other, - months and months of our first year of marriage I spent puking.  My poor Coach.

But that baby?  That first, sweet, tiny, little guy?  All 5.5 pounds of him?  Amazing.  Ate well, slept well, SMILED all of the time.  In spite of our inexperience and still figuring things out?  He was just perfect.

When Son (#1) was just about six months old, I began to suspect that I was pregnant, again.  Now, I wanted babies.  LOTS of them (my dream was an even dozen!).  But he was still REALLY baby.  And never, in a million years, did I imagine having another one so quickly.

I cried for two weeks.

Not because I wasn't excited to have another baby!  But because the thought of being SICK, again, and on meds and bed rest. . .with a 6 month old and a hubby who (bless his heart) wasn't quite sure what to do with a wife who left the room constantly to vomit.  Lovely, right?

The pregnancy wasn't nearly as bad.  I was grateful.  And our little guy still napped twice a day and slept 12 hours at night, so I was able to rest a lot and it was OK.  Then 14 1/2 months after we welcomed our first-born son, we welcomed our first-born daughter.

Oh.  My.  Word.

(Son #1 has adored and taken care of her ever since.)

When I think of this girl?  Happy.  Sweet.  Cheerful.  Beautiful.  Smiling.  Always smiling.  Smart.  Kind.  Friend to EVERYONE. Diligent.  Hard working.  Athletic (like her daddy!).

Our lives, our home, our family NEEDED this girl.

And you know what?  I'd do it all over, again.  Because the Lord?  He knew.  He knew we needed her.

Thank you, Lord, for loving us more than we could ever know.  For giving us what we need, even when we don't know we need it.

(We WERE an average sized family for a little while!  And yes, I know the Coach hasn't aged.  It's genetic.  And I don't have those genes.  Love him.)

(Her name means HAPPY.  She is.)

(Wasn't long before she had six younger siblings to keep in line.  And she does it, well! I miss those squishy little people.  Where has time gone??)

And Happy Birthday to my Beautiful 17 year old Daughter.

So blessed to be her Momma.