30 years ago today life got even sweeter for us...

It really doesn't seem possible. 30 years ago today, Larry and I welcomed our second child into our family. We had babies before you really had the opportunity to know what you were having...I have to say there is something I really liked about that. The anticipation of that day was like none other. Would we be given another boy and be a little family of boys. Highly possible in our family as boys way out number girls! Or would God give us a little girl and we could experience the joys of both sexes. We wondered and we waited. When Ashley decided to finally come (she was a week late!) we were beyond delighted. We had always dreamed of being parents to a boy and a girl and our dreams...no our prayers had been answered. A beautiful nine plus pound precious baby girl! I was thrilled, Larry was thrilled and Zach, oh my, he was beside himself. From day one, Zach took it on to be her protector. He loved his baby sister and it become pretty clear right off the bat, that she was pretty keen on him as well. We could not have asked for more...a boy and a girl to raise, to love and to now watch them raise their own!

Today we celebrate 30 years with Ashley. We always laugh as our two kids were as different as day and (k)night. Ashley was content to sit and watch Zach fly around the room...he was her personal entertainer. It we needed a smile or laugh...just ask Zach to look at her! He could have her laughing or smiling in seconds. She was and really continues to be laid back, quiet and easy-going. Ashley loved to lay in her bed in the morning and look through a stack of books we kept by her bed. Zach hit the ground running. Ashley would savor each bite of food and eat small amounts while Zach would eat his food and anxiously await to see if Ashley needed help cleaning up her plate. Ashley would play or do whatever her "bubba" was doing. The Little Critter Book called "Me too" was surely written with Zach and Ashley in mind! Those two words, "Me too" were heard hundreds of times a day!

Fast forward (and fast is exactly how I am feeling today...how did 30 years go by so fast!!!) and now I have the honor of watching her as a wife and a mother. She goes about her jobs quietly and continues to be laid-back and easy-going. She is a wonderful little mother. Somehow I knew she would be from the time she owned her first baby, it was always with her. She mothered every little doll she owned. What joy fills my heart as I watch her teach Emma about God. It is obvious to us that Emma's days are filled with teaching moments! Ashley is doing a wonderful job raising Emma. She is a lovely wife and takes both of those roles seriously. She is also a wonderful and loving daughter to me. She is not only my precious daughter but my best girl friend. We are so blessed. We have been not only given wonderful children to raise but now we delight in being a part of their lives as they raise their own. We are so thankful to God for giving us this role.

Ashley, we love you and are so very honored to be your parents. Happy 30th Birthday!

May your day be as special and wonderful as you are!