Happy birthday, Laney!

My dear, oldest daughter,

I did not forget your birthday on the 18th, I just forgot to blog about it that day. I remembered Monday, but didn't have a chance to do it & now it's Wednesday & I'm realizing that I still didn't do it. Of course, as I begin, your baby brother begins to stir in his bed, but thank goodness you have such a wonderful Daddy who will go up to comfort him until I can finish.

Six years ago, Jason, AJ & I headed for Arizona for the second time & when we realized the work would be better for Jason in El Paso, TX, we moved on after a week or two. After struggling daily for a week & wondering if he would have made enough money for us to remain in the hotel, he scored a few more shoeing jobs and we had enough to move over to an extended stay motel. That was home for another week.

Then our dear friend, Gary Ladd, God rest his soul, showed up and borrowed us enough money for a deposit on an apartment that was more than a great home for us for the next 7 months. After 2 weeks of living there & not having any furniture but an air mattress on the living room floor and a tv in front of it, along came Laney, 3 weeks early, but still 7 pounds and ready for the world.

After less than an hour of labor at home, we headed to the hospital & as the attendent wheeled me to the OB department, his realization of the frequency of my contractions had me thinking I should not have waited so long. So while Jason went to move the truck out of the emergency bay, the nurses gowned me up for delivery. As soon as he got back to the room, the doctor was there & said it was time to push. HUH?! Three pushes later, I was moved to tears as they announced it was a baby girl...we got our little girl!

She was a very content baby who loved to sleep in her bed, always ate well & didn't fuss much. Now, she still loves her bed, although she's up before the sun lately, she still eats well (actually more than AJ and Faith combined most of the time), but the fussing has changed a bit, but we won't get into that. So here's a belated birthday wish for her that the future holds just as much joy for her as her entrance into our world has been for us.