Happy Birthday, Princess!

I completely missed blogging on Kailey's birthday. It has been a busy week full of fun things. Being the classy girl that she is, Kailey went shopping in Dallas on Tuesday night (her actual birthday) after having a wonderful pink party on Saturday! Thank you so much to those who called, e-mailed, and/or attended her party! She has such special people to love her. I pray that she already knows how richly blessed she is.

I will post more pictures but thought I would share my birthday letter for Kailey on her first birthday.

My Precious Sunshine,

This year has flown. I can vividly relive each detail of this day last year and have trouble believing that there could possibly have been 365 days between then and now. Yet it is also difficult to comprehend how you could have spread so much joy in a mere 12 months. There is no way to describe the blessing of you. You are everything precious, beautiful, joyful, and wonderful. You are already my little companion - sharing with me in girl things, mommy things, sweet things, and pretty things. You are a buddy to your brother - playing ball and tagging along right behind him. You are a princess to your daddy - grabbing his heart and holding it in that tiny grasp.

You have done everything early, seeming to run to meet milestones that I would have been willing to postpone. You seem to already have a desire to remind me that you are not a baby but a growing girl who needs responsibilities. : ) You want to help, snuggle, comfort, love, and cheer everyone you meet. I am in constant amazement at God's ability to use your sweet presence in a shopping mall, a grocery store, or a restaurant to put a smile on someone's face and cause them to open up and share with us. I pray to constantly be ready to walk through the doors God uses you to open and to reach out to others. I know you will always be challenging me to do better simply by being yourself.

Less than two years ago, your daddy and I were crying out to God for you, knowing that there was something missing from our family. That something was you! When we asked God what He wanted us to do, He told us to stand firm and see Him deliver us from the long and difficult road we had been on. God gave us a story in the Bible of Him fighting for His people as they praised Him. At the end of the story they ended up with so many riches when their enemies were defeated, that it took them three days to carry it away! We felt that was our promise from Him, treasure beyond our expectations. You have been beyond what we could have dreamed. Because of that we decided to name you, "Kailey" which means "crown." Our treasure given in God's victory over our struggles! He is so good!

My precious Kailey Abigail, there is not a day that I take you for granted, not a night that I put you to bed without pouring out a heart of gratitude to God for giving you to me. In no way could I ever deserve to be your mother and have the joy of spending these precious years with you, but I can never thank God enough for His graciousness in allowing me that priceless privilege.

Oh, how I love you. But always remember, He loves you unfathomably more. He will be your everything if you will only let Him. How I pray for you to walk with Him each hour of every day for the rest of your life. There is no real living outside of Him. No real joy unless He is at the center of it. If I could only ask one thing for you, baby girl, it would be to know His love and to return it with everything you have. If you do that, everything else will fall into place.

Happy Birthday, my love. May there be many more full of the love, family and friendship that this one has been. You are a blessed baby girl.

Mommy