Happy Birthday Amelia Claire!

This feels like yesterday...
Three is harder than two. Which makes me wonder if there will be a leveling out around, say, seven? Two still seemed small and even as she neared the end of being two, I still beamed and shouted "TWO" when someone asked how old Amelia was. Never for a moment saying, "almost three." My tiny little Buzzy Bee is three?? It is interesting and baffling and precious what a child does for you. I got a glimpse of it as a teacher, because I loved my students. Always called them my kids and lost most of 'self' while teaching and counseling and grading and lecturing. Then, my own surprise bundle came into the world.

And the surprise was not just that I was with child. The surprise has continued and expanded tenfold since her birth. The gap between loving my students and loving my own child became astoundingly obvious. THIS precious being was a part of me. I was TOTALLY responsible for her joy and development and every other thing from A to Z. It all came as such a shock. Oh, my word this is the incomprehensible LOVE that parents speak of. This is why your HEART is ready to leap out of her chest for the next 50 + years.






Amelia,

Being your mom has been blessing upon blessing. Daddy and I were totally unprepared for the way that you would allow us to see life. Everything is more important and less important at exactly the same time. It is more important and more pressing each day to show you the love of God and pray that you find him and keep him with you throughout your life. It is more important than ever to show joy in all our days and squeeze each and every drop of fun out of this life that we have been allowed to have with you. As you age it becomes less important to stress over a bedtime down to the minute and even less important to make sure you wear the socks that Mommy picks out.

Thank you for your infectious curiosity and your innocent (and sometimes not-so-innocent) way of demanding our full attention. Thank you for showing me what it truly means to love. To honestly live out loving patiently and kindly and without boasting. Thank you for your thirst for fun and your passion for the small and big. Thank you for the hugs and kisses and the encouragement you give me every single day. Thank you for being totally you- the little Buzzy completely made in God's image to further push me to be the most complete person that I can be.

If these are the first three years, my heart almost cannot contain the anticipation of those that are to follow. I am so excited for all that this next year holds for you. Loving you forever and always.

Mom

Here is my sweet baby turning One...

Two....

and Three..