On this day, seven years ago, I became a mother.  That snowy, beautiful day is etched into my brain.  I can remember so many details that I strive to hold on to.  It was a day that I had thought about for the majority of my then, 26 years.  Being a mom was something I knew I wanted.  Motherhood, to me, was from the pages of a storybook.  I had my ideas, I had my dreams.  I thought I knew what being a mom would be like.  Never could I have been prepared for this extraordinary, unordinary life.  No storybooks tell a story like ours.  In a way, I’m writing it for you.  To explain that although this bittersweet love story will have a sad ending, this life that has been created because of you will be unforgettable and unique.  It is more beautiful and real than I could have ever dreamed.  This, Livia Grace, is for you.

To wish you a sincere Happy Birthday, is really hard for me.  I do, though, because you deserve to be celebrated every single day of your life.  However, this one day marks another year gone.  It’s a symbol of time.  When I know time is limited with you, I want to ignore it and take you back to that beautiful day in February when we first met.  The days of constant embrace, getting to know every single line of your body.  Falling in love hard and fast.  Those days were perfect.  I was captivated by your beauty that very first instant I saw you.  I had no idea at that moment how your beauty and your quiet being would shape me as a person.  How being your mom would completely re-write what I thought life should be like.  That I would find God, Grace, and strength during a time that my endurance would be tested daily.  You, my sweet girl, tell a story of most vivid and pure life.  

Your innocence and sweet demeanor are the main character. 

The exposition of your story was that first day we met.

  

The rising action was the time when you were at your best.  Your voice…..how I long to hear that sweet voice.

  

The climax is now.  It’s hard to face that we are in this stage of your life.  However, the climax of a story is always the best.  It’s the time in a story or movie that we never want to end.  It’s the time (or point in a story) that we always think about when it’s over.  Here and now, this birthday we will celebrate.

 The falling action and resolution are yet to come, and frankly I pray it never comes.  Until then, we will keep reading your story and taking close notice of the lessons learned through your most beautiful life.

Happy 7th birthday, Livi~Loo!  May you know always and forever how grateful I am to call you mine.  I’d pick YOU, every time!