To Hadley, Love Mom

Dear Hadley,

Today you are one! I am so proud of the person you are becoming and I thank God every day that I have you in my life! Your dad and I love you so much! We prayed and prayed that we would be blessed with a child and you are definitely an answer to our prayers.

You are by far the coolest person I know. You laugh at almost everything. You bring happiness and a smile to everyone throughout the day. You are happy when you wake up in the morning and are smiling as you go to sleep. I pray that you keep your optimism and your enthusiasm for life. That, plus an education, will take you anywhere you want.

You are so smart! You amaze me everyday with what you can do. I watch your brain at work as you accomplish more in a hour than some adults do in an entire day! I also love your courage. You are not afraid! From a mommy's perspective, that makes me work a little harder to keep you safe. But from a grown woman's perspective, keep going! Fear is ok if it makes you think and question; it's useless if it makes you stop altogether.

You are a loving person. And you have made the people that love you better people! You remind me everyday that ANYTHING is possible and I love you more than words can say for showing and reminding me of that truth. You also have a great sense of humor which is key in life. Always be able to laugh at yourself. It will make you humble and strong. It will also help you deal with the fact that you have my patience. For that, my words of advice are be patient with your impatience. Some days you will do better with it than others and luckily you will have people that love you unconditionally to help balance you out.

You have a wonderful dad. I watch the two of you together sometimes and it overwhelms me. You are so much alike and you are already great buddies. He would do anything for you and I love him so much for being the man that he is. I pray that you always have a special bond and relationship. He will teach you great things and crack you up and he will always love you.

You are my special little girl and I love you so much. I have enjoyed this past year more than I ever knew I could and for reasons I didn't know existed. I look forward to watching you grow and see the spirit in your eyes blossom into action.

Happy Birthday, Hadley!

Love,
Mom