Happy Birthday Baby!

In two hours my oldest daughter will turn 14 years old.  That's completely amazing, scary and mind-boggling all at the same time.  


Where has the time gone?  


Many of you might not know the history of my oldest daughter, Maria.  We only discovered her existence a little more than three years ago.  Seriously.  Just like on the movies...our Plain Jane reality show's husband got a phone call - we have your granddaughter.  From there we went through DNA testing, court hearings, and then finally we were able to meet our daughter.  A month of so later we were moving her into our home.


Such a crazy roller coaster that time was.  There was a lot of adjusting to a new child with weird habits.  We had our normal house rules that she never had and we were conforming her into our world as she was adapting.  Oh, it was hard.  It was hard on all of us, but we loved her and she loved us...and God was just AMAZING during the entire process.


In my life that was the most dramatic experience where you could turn your head, glance behind your shoulder through the years of time and calculate every step along the way; every question of why God?  Every battle in our young marriage?  Our instant family...one thing after another and each one was God molding, guiding, correcting and preparing us for THAT moment in time.  


Truly astonishing.


Even the relationship with the women on my block, our church home that we had just received, our newly dependence on God had just been established...all the cards lined up and VOILA - the gift was delivered.  Wrapped in a tiny red bow.  


Our beautiful Maria.


As she turns 14 of course I am filled with the thoughts of her future high school life and all the things she is going to face there.  Pressure of this thing or that thing.  I just pray that, unlike myself, that she can have the confidence in who she is...that God made her beautiful and deserving of so much more than the crap that she will be fed.  I just pray she doesn't make the same mistakes that I made...because I made way to many.


Happy Birthday my BIG baby girl!