Happy Birthday, Jessa!

6 years ago today, my life was changed forever. My sweet baby girl was born. I cannot believe it has been 6 years. On one hand, I feel like she was just born yesterday. That tiny little thing with her chin quivering as she was placed in my arms. Yet, I have a hard time remembering a time that I did not love her; a hard time remembering that I actually existed before I was a mother. Her mother. Know what I mean?

David and I were so ready to be parents. And when I tell her the story of her birth, I always tell her that we wanted her more than anything else in the world. Of course, we did not know we wanted her, but now we cannot imagine a more perfect girl for us.

Notice I said "perfect for us" because our girl can drive us nuts. For real, NUTS. And I would never say anyone was "perfect." She is overly dramatic. She is pretty much spoiled rotten. She is rather bossy and can manipulate her brother like nobody's business. And she can be pretty hard to handle if she is not getting her way. She is can be rather moody - especially when you wake her up too early! (The other morning when she was not happy about getting up for the bus, she said, "I never should have signed up for school!" as though it was all her idea.)

But she is ours. And despite the fact that we get so frustrated with her on a daily basis, she can be so sweet. And she has a good heart. She is kind. She loves to draw pictures for us and write us notes. She is passionate about everything (especially about not going to bed). She is so funny and makes us laugh all the time. She is fun and silly. She is confident and she knows her own mind. She is beautiful on the inside and out. She is smart and adores school. She keeps us on our toes and challenges us and makes us smarter. She is our girl, and she is perfect for us - with all the wonderful traits and all of the things that make us crazy.

I have been so emotional when I think of her being 6. Seriously, it takes TWO hands for her to hold up the fingers to tell people how old she is. TWO HANDS, people!

Every time I pretend to cry about "my baby being 6! wah-hah-hah," Jessa crawls into my lap and soothes me. She says, "Mommy, I promise that even though I am going to be 6, I will always be your baby!" See, she is a smart girl; she knows just what to say.

We wanted her so badly. We were so happy on this day 6 years ago. And every day since that one, she has made us happier than we could ever imagine. We are so blessed to have her. We are so grateful for the gift that is our Jessa Lynn.

Happy Birthday, sweet Jessa!

You are so loved.