25 April 2011

My Earth Day, Birthday girl!

I woke up on Friday, April 22nd, feeling more excited than Annika about her birthday.  I don't know if there are words to describe it.  As I laid in bed, waiting for the sun to rise, I reflected on the last eight years.  Where we've been and where we are.  And, I looked into the future.  Where we are going. 

She has learned so much in eight years.  It's hard to fathom how much she will learn in the next eight, and the lifetime beyond that.  As I held her in the wee morning hours of April 22, 2003, I could not have imagined that life would take us here and that she would grown into the lovely young woman she has become.

My beautiful baby girl (the day that I became a mother)     


 At 0448 on 4-22-03, my life was forever changed.  No longer was I just a woman, a wife, a daughter and sister.  I became a mother.  And, in that moment, I understood a love that made me want to be a better person.  To live my life not just for me, but for my child as well.

Celebrating her first birthday





 The road that she and I have traveled has been long and rocky.  But, it's shaped who we are today.  And I can only hope that I have had even a small impact on her life because she's had an enormous impact on mine.

To my sweet precious girl:  Thank you for choosing me to be your mother.  And for being uniquely you.  It is an honor to be your Mommy.  I love you with all of my heart.

Huntington Beach, SC (February 2005)

Annika, age 2 (June 2005)
Annika, age 3 (July 2006-on the day her cousin Kendall was born)
Annika, age 4 (August 2007)
Annika, age 5 (April 2008)
Annika, age 6 (August 2009)
Annika, age 7 (August 2010)
Annika, age 8 (April 2011)

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