My baby's growing up

Tomorrow is Theo Jane's 10th birthday! I can hardly believe I am about to be the mother of a 10 year old!!! Can it really be ten years already?!! Yes, I suppose it can, but time sure does fly. I still remember so well the very first time I saw her and held her. It feels like not so long ago. I remember being so worried about being pregnant, and too terrified to tell anyone. I knew eventually I would have to, obviously I couldn't keep her in there forever (!) but it just seemed too scary. I remember the night of April 4, 1996. It was a Thursday and it had also been the last day of school before spring break. I remember getting my shower early and sitting down to watch e.r. with some pizza rolls and a glass of apple juice. I didn't finish them. When the show was over I went to bed. I felt even more tired than usual, and a little lightheaded too. The next thing I remember is waking up in a hospital bed; the first thing I did was look down at my stomach--it was flat. I immediately panicked--where was the baby?? But then a nurse noticed that I was awake and informed me that I had a beautiful baby daughter. It was Saturday afternoon, the day before Easter, when my precious little gift from God was placed in my arms. It was the most amazing moment of my life. I remember how tiny and perfect she looked, that delicate little face and fingers, the softness of her cheek when I kissed it, and that lovely baby smell! And even though I was not yet a Christian (I didn't even know then what it meant to be saved), I prayed with such thanks to God. I knew that there was most definitely a God, and that somehow He'd gotten me through the most difficult circumstance of my life. Later, the nurse told me what an ordeal my precious little one had had; they'd done an emergency c-section and at birth my baby wasn't breathing and her heart stopped beating. She'd been resuscitated and placed in an incubator in the NICU. But then, in just a few hours, she miraculously recovered. She was breathing on her own, was responsive, and even able to eat. The way the nurse put it was "she must have a guardian angel." And that is when I knew what I'd name her--Theo Jane, after my grandmother.
Now she's ten years old and has grown into such a beautiful, smart, creative girl with the silliest sense of humor. She faces such battles every day because of her cerebral palsy, and yet she always smiles and has so much faith in God. She is an inspiration and blessing. Happy birthday T.J.!!! :-)