HAPPY SIXTH BIRTHDAY, LITTLE ANGEL...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...MY ROCKIN', AWESOME GIFT FROM GOD!

Six years ago, I was preparing for an induction....

Six years ago, I was ready to meet my new daughter...

Six years ago, I was putting together a crib, by myself, the night before going in to the hospital...

Six years ago, I was excited, nervous, scared, joyous...

Six years ago, I was ignorant...

Six years ago, I was packing my bag, getting ready to head to the hospital the next morning. I didn't know what to expect but I was ready to get things over with and meet HER. This little ball that had been my constant companion for 9 months. I KNEW her, already in my heart. I felt her move, kick and knew which side she liked me to sleep on. I KNEW what she would look like. Months before, I had found a Pampers ad in a baby magazine with a picture of a toddler, who I was sure looked just like what Faith would look like!(I still have this picture and she does favor that little girl, a lot!) After all the uncertainty, I was convinced that she was going to be fine and we would be bringing a baby home in just days. I was also NOT having a C-section!

Then labor happened and she was turned wrong and I DID have a C-section. Something went wrong and she got a blood clot and had a stroke before anyone knew what was happening. Then she was moved 2 hours away and I was left behind to recover, by myself.

Nothing I imagined happened...I missed all the bonding, first bath, diapering and all the big firsts...intubation's, iv's, MRI's, EEG's, CT scans, spinal taps. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding her birth...she made it here, although not in the ways I imagined.

After all the things that have happened in her six years I have this wonderful little girl who inspires me every day. I am thankful for all the lessons I have learned and for her very life. I used to ask "why her, why us?" but I don't anymore. I say "We were given a miraculous, once in a lifetime gift." I never thought I could come to this point, after all it has been six years! But guilt, frustration, anger and furry have given way to acceptance and great pride.

She has overcome so many awful obstacles...WE have overcome so many, ourselves. She CAN communicate...she CAN move...she CAN make you laugh like crazy...she CAN understand most of what you say...she CAN weasel her way into any one's heart in just minutes!

I am so blessed to be her mother! I am lucky to have witnessed a great miracle. I am grateful for every moment she is on this earth and I pray that she continues to be for many, many years. I love this child more than anything I could ever imagine. When people look at us, as I push her wheelchair or carry her to her car seat, in pity... I just smirk..they don't know anything! They probably haven't ever even seen a miracle before!

I can't believe it's been six years! There were days... still are... when I wasn't sure she would make it to five and now here we stand...old enough to begin school in the fall.

Faith, you are a funky, special, one of a kind little girl who has changes so many people's lives. I love you so much, and I wouldn't change you for anything! You are the light in our lives and my reason for living! I am incredibly thrilled with every wonderful thing you have accomplished.

BTW, this is a small celebration for me...it's my 100th post. Thanks to all my friends who continue to read as I pour out a little of our lives onto the world.