Emma is 10 years old....believe it or not?

Dear Emma,

Ten short years ago, I became a mommy for the second time. I was certain that I could never love another baby as much as my first one. All mommy's think that way.

On April 3, 1997 I realized that.....I was wrong.



















Little girl with the plump lips and enormous eyes. People thought we had makeup on you! You were beautiful and you still are. My prayer is that others come to know how beautiful you are on the inside. The beauty that comes from loving Jesus with all your heart.























Oh big sister! Was she ever proud. She still is. I will never ever forget the first time that she laid eyes on you. I know she truly believed that you belonged to her. You set her straight on that misconception about two years later.






















Chub! Our little bulldog baby. Those cheeks were savory and worth a nibble or two. Too sweet!
























Did I say chub? Baby, you were clearin' plates of pot roast & steak by the time you were 19 mths old. I liked to call you...."my healthy eater".

Your dad still likes to call me that sometimes.

















Speaking of your daddy.....you are for sure a daddy's girl. You are a clone genetically and it shows both in your coloring and your love for numerical equations. Black hair and speaking in numbers ain't in my blood. But remember....the appetite. The appetite came from your momma.



















All of a sudden...you have an opinion. You and your sister seldom share the same one, so life is always full of "conversation" around here. I have loved watching you grow up. I have hated that you are growing up....How can that make sense?























You were at home with me while Hannah was starting school. It was a special...oh-so-special time in our life. We preschooled, play-doh'd, and napped the afternoons away. I was pregnant with Samuel when you went to school, but I missed you terribly bad. I still have a very vivid memory of being at home alone for the first time in seven years. It wasn't pretty. But it didn't last long...

















School already? You have always done well. You didn't want to go sometimes but you did. You would lure Daddy down the hall after lunchtime visits... "just to see my classroom, pweeeese?". Once you got him down there, you would turn on the waterworks...all the way. You girls know how to work over that daddy, don't you?

















A big sister! I could never convince you that you just weren't big enough to carry him, so I gave up. It freaked everybody out when you would carry around our little wobbly-chicken boy, but it made him tough, right? Seriously, you were so careful with him and attentive and loving and precious and you still are. That brother is so lucky to have the sisters that he does. He'll tell you that someday.....but he will probably be about 40 years old.


















Emma you are 10 years old. I really cannot believe that so many years have passed by. I know, I know, I say that all the time, but it is starting to really catch me by surprise. No matter what...I know this. God not only increased the amount of mercy and grace I needed to mother more children he increased the blessing over my life when He so graciously placed your life in our hands. Oh little pickle! You are so very loved. I hope this 10th birthday is spectacular. After all, you are are a double-digit midget. Let's celebrate!