Happy 4th Birthday, Avaree Grace!!!!

Avaree Grace,
Happy birthday to the first baby to ever call me Mommy!!!!!!!!! I still remember the first time you said "Ma-ma!" My heart soared.  I remember the first time you smiled at me. I remember the first time you reached for me. I remember the first time you crawled to me. I remember the first time you ran to me. I truly cannot believe it has been four years since you came into this world. 
You are spunky, sweet, hilarious, stubborn, loving, tender, talkative, and kind. You are so much your Daddy's daughter that sometimes I look at you and see him. You have a lot of your Mommy in you too. You have the best of both of us. 
I remember hearing that trying to prepare someone for motherhood is like trying to explain swimming to someone that has never seen or felt water. I can attest to that. I'm not sure what I expected, but once they placed you in my arms, I knew for sure that I never wanted to leave you. 

I have loved every stage of your life more than the last. From the moment you came into the world, you have brightened my life in every way possible. You have made me love deeper, laugh harder, appreciate more, and expanded my faith! You made my dreams come true. You made me a Mommy!

Tonight, as I tucked my three year old in to bed, knowing that you would soon wake up as a four year old, tears streamed down my face. You wiped my tears, and you told me that you loved me. I have no words to tell you how you daily reach into my heart and fill my life with such joy! 

Oh how I want to protect you from this crazy world. Oh how I want to shield you from pain and suffering. Oh how I want to guard you from hurt. Oh, how I love you.

I love you with every fiber of my being. I am so very thankful and blessed that God chose me to be your Mommy. I feel so blessed to have that honor, and I pray daily that I would be found worthy of such a role. 
May you continue to love Jesus and seek to know him more. May you always have the innocent, uninhibited faith in Him that you have now. 
I love you higher than the sky, deeper than the ocean, wider than the horizons and back again!
Love, Mommy