Ten

Ten years ago, this week, I became a mom.

For as long as I can remember, that's what I have wanted to be.

Despite my preparation and excitement, I have the clearest memory of sitting in my hospital room, on the day we were to go home, and holding that sweet baby girl. The nurse came in and told us we could leave. My husband and I exchanged a look of "OH MY GOSH. SHE IS SERIOUSLY LETTING US TAKE THIS BABY HOME?...... BY OURSELVES??"

We look back and laugh at how panicked we were over every little thing. She was sooooooo tiny and helpless.

And loud.

She had colic for the first three months of her life, which brought on a huge amount of challenges. And she never slept for more than 15 minutes at a time for most of those first three months.

Thankfully, at month four, she snapped out of it, and became such a fun little thing, sending a huge wash of relief over us all.

Even now, ten years later, she's still pretty loud, and doesn't sleep nearly as much as I'd like her to.

But she's pretty special.

She loves to take care of her sisters and brother.

She loves to clean and organize.

She loves to read her Bible and tell me what she's learned in her devotional.

She loves to sing.

She has a special heart for making sure that everyone feels included.

And she loves to hang out with me.

I know that last one will soon be overtaken with friends and activities as she gets older and older, but I love our times when we get to hang out - just the two of us.

So, for her birthday this year, she wanted to do a Mommy Date Night. So that's just what we did. And we had a blast.

Making beautiful memories.

I can't believe she's ten years old.