My Little Girl

In every life there come those life-changing moments - moments that unexpectedly come, no matter how well-prepared we think we are. Some of those moments are breath-taking and leave us filled with awe and wonder, while some take our breath away and leave us filled with an emptiness that makes life hard to face. No matter which moment it is we are left changed in a profound way. In my life, one of those moments came on September 24th, 1978, in a hospital in Laramie, Wyoming.

One of the things that Anita and I knew from the beginning of our life together was that we wanted to have children. In fact, we began trying to conceive soon after we were married and we waited anxiously each month to see if we were pregnant. Finally, after about 18 months of trying, we discovered that Anita was pregnant and that we were expecting a child in the fall of 1978. Over the next nine months we did all the things that expectant parents do. We attended birth classes, we re-finished furniture and made a nursery and we thought about names. At every doctor's visit they told us everything was normal. At the time, I did not realize that this would be the last time we would use the word 'normal' in our family for the next 25 or 30 years! I even pushed Anita from the front seat of a Suburban, into a ditch while she was 8 months pregnant (in my defense, it seemed normal!) The really amusing part of all this is that we actually thought we were prepared for the life-changing moment we were about to experience.

I can tell you almost everything that happened the night/morning of your birth. However, I can sum it up by telling you that at 11:18 AM, on September 24th, the most beautiful little girl was born and placed in my arms. As I looked down at your face, you pushed your little lips out and your little chin quivered and I knew that from that day forward, I had no heart left because you carried it around with you. I will confess to you that I fell in love with you at that moment and there are only two moments in my life that mean more to me...one was marrying your mother and the other was being saved by the grace of Jesus Christ!

Over the years, I have watched you walk into Reed Elementary carrying your balloon lunch box and my heart; I have dropped you off at Ford Middle School, Allen High School, John Brown University and Indian River Middle School and yes, I have shed a tear or two every time; I have seen you marry a wonderful husband and I still see you in that pure, white dress dancing with me and telling me "This is everything I ever dreamed for my wedding...it's like a fairy tale!" I could go on with all the memories I have of you.

It's hard to believe that the same little girl who wore her hair in pigtails and had her daddy wrapped around her finger is the same little girl who is now a beautiful young lady, godly wife and mother. I still believe you were the most beautiful baby ever born, although my two grandsons were pretty awesome and run a close second! I can never put into words the joy and love you brought to your mother and me...all I can say is that being your dad has been life-changing!

Happy Birthday and I Love You!