For Madelynn on her 6th Birthday

My Dearest Madelynn,
Oh how I cannot believe that you are six!  I swear it was just yesterday that we welcomed you earthside and you began teaching us how to be parents.  I can still clearly remember your soft baby skin, your warm baby smell, your tiny baby fingers and toes, and your ability to turn my heart to mush with your baby smile.  You started school this past Fall and now you're all long legs and boisterous energy, and you you still have the power to melt my heart with a smile - simply just by being you.

I sit in awe every day of this amazing little girl that you are, and are becoming.  You are incredibly intelligent and I am so proud of how you are loving school, and how quickly you have learned to read.  I am thankful that you inherited my love for reading, as books can take you anywhere that you want to go - and you don't even have to get out of your pajamas!  You have the funniest, wittiest sense of humor and I love to laugh with you.  It makes my day.  Your creativity and imagination are limitless, developing this beautiful artistic part of you that I cannot wait to watch as you grow.  You have the most amazing relationship with God and connection to spirituality, so much so that I often think that you are an angel - that you have one foot here on earth and the other in heaven. You are so kind and nurturing - so willing to help others, so patient with your baby sister, and so desiring to shine your light for the whole world to see.  I am in awe of your grace and your beauty, inside and out.

I have to admit that sometimes I struggle as your mother.  You are so sensitive and so wise beyond your years that I forget that you are still a little girl.  I love how I can still help you feel safe and grounded - how you can climb into my lap and I can hold you tight ,and for a few minutes everything else in the world disappears.  My unconditional, undying love is all you really need to feel supported and understood.  I honestly pray that it is this way when you are 16 or 26 or 36 or 46 - that you can come to me from wherever you are, I can hold you and stroke your hair when life feels too hard for you.  I know that you will be able to handle anything that comes your way, but I do want you to know that I am always, always here - that no matter where you are or where I am you will always have a home.

Oh Miss Maddie, it is so hard as a mother to watch your babies grow up!  It's so hard and yet it is so wonderful because I am so certain that God has amazing plans for you.  While I may always miss the days when I could snuggle every square inch of your tiny 8 lb body against my chest and watch you breathe as you slept, I know that each new stage has its beauty and I cannot wait to see what is next for you.   

I love you so much Madelynn Hollis - forever and always no matter what!  Happy birthday precious girl!  May God bless you this year and in the many years to come.
Love,
Mommy