SIX!

Six!

5+1
4+2
3+3


Six is the number of years that sweet face has graced my life. She is the JOY of it...no doubt about that, she is also the funny, the frustrated, the loud, the hopping and jumping, the squealing, and the bittersweet part of my life.

I didn't know six years could go by so fast...I remember waiting thirteen for her, those years drug past like a slow, tired train. And just think...only seven more years and she WILL be thirteen! I can't begin to express how the thought of the teenage years scare me...so for today, I am just going to savor SIX!

I am going to enjoy the fake lizards and bugs and all manner of plastic creatures that grace all our bathtubs, the nicks in the wall and the spots on the carpet. I am going to gaze in wonder at the mountain of laundry waiting on me in the laundry basket and marvel at the toys strewn from one end of the house to the other. She doesn't think like me, she likes MATH, for HEAVEN SAKE, and yet she plays the piano and loves to read. She is smart, kind, outgoing and thrill-seeking. There is always a party going on inside her brain and at any given moment she wants to be an astronaut, a vet or a missionary! She loves her dogs and her cat and her Little Pets and if Bunny is lost at bedtime, everything comes to a halt until he is found and safely esconced in her bed. She takes gymnastics and piano and has a knack for memorizing scripture. She likes gummy bears and cheese sticks and double noodle soup. She is spoiled by her MeMa and only like Honey Baked Ham and if there is rice in sight...she will devour it in an instant! As I type this there is a tent erected in my den and a full-fledged camping experience happening inside of it, complete with (SUPERVISED!) marshmellow toasting in the kitchen! She can crack a joke in an instant, has a quick wit that gets me everytime and loves to sing any song that Sugarland has on their cd. There is never a dull moment in a house with this six year old.

I have waited a long time for a little someone, a little face in my rearview mirror and little arms to squeeze me tight. She will be grown and gone before I know it and I am going to force myself not to blink over the next 12 years...maybe then I can slow the process down a bit.

It has been six years since the sweetest baby in all the world was born and loved and given to us as a gift from God. Today we celebrate...even more than we do every other day!!

Happy Birthday, My sweet Hannah Joy! You are the reason for it all!!

Living Happily in the MOMent!
Beverly