Happy Birthday, Sweetheart

Twenty-nine years ago, I gave birth to the most beautiful baby girl. From the first moment I saw her, I knew she was special. She was beautiful then, and she's beautiful now. Of course, my first sight of her was this beautiful little being screaming at the top of her lungs as she protested her birth. She still protests against things she thinks wrong or unfair. She quited down quickly, though, and obviously watched everything happening around her; as the nurses did the things nurses do for newborns. She's still focused and aware; from things around her home to issues of National interest. She was a little beautiful blond baby. From my first sight of her, she's had a special place in my heart.

As a child, my daughter was loving, stubborn, intelligent, and beautiful. She's the child that could both charm and exasperate. She was (and is) athletic and intelligent. She can still be stubborn. She is a strong woman, in a family of strong women. I love her.

My daughter is now a mother, with children of her own. She's a fantastic mother. She is raising her children to be respectful and capable. She's got a strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and has married a man with an equally strong testimony. Their children have a bright, simple testimony that will only grow as they hear and feel their parents' testimonies. I'm so proud of my daughter's choice of an eternal companion....she couldn't have found anyone more suited to her. My daughter is an example of someone I'd like to be, eventually.

So, Happy Birthday, sweetheart. I hope this next year brings you all the happiness you deserve!