She Is My Destiny

"A little girl is sugar and spice and everything nice - 
especially when she's taking a nap."

~Author Unknown

Destiny will be 5 years old this coming Sunday. In some ways I can't believe it. In other ways I'm thinking, "She's only 5??" :) I can barely remember my life before her. 5 years ago, we were living with my parents and had no concept of the way our life was about to change forever.
I was scared out of my mind to give birth, but was confident that the rest would be smooth sailing. 

After all, I knew about babies. 

I had younger siblings and had done my fair share of babysitting. 

Yep, I was an idiot. 

Turns out, the giving birth part was easy. No amount of preparation would have prepared me for the 7lb. 15 oz. life that was handed to me at 12:57 a.m. on January 16, 2006. She cried from the moment she was born until she was about 6 months old. She never slept. I know you may think I am exaggerating when I say this, but it is the honest truth. She slept through the night one time when she was 8 months old and not again til she turned 1. You can imagine how Mommy felt at the end of year 1. :) 

(We are 4 days from her 5th birthday and she STILL wakes up every night.) 

She developed an intolerance to rice when she was 4 months old. 1 in a million. She tried to sit up when she was 3 days old and was running full speed by 9 months. She was stubborn and moody and always afraid she was going to miss something. She looked like Daddy, but behaved like her uncle. 

I pretty much gave birth to a carbon copy of my brother Josh. 

For those of you who know my brother, you totally understand this.

Her first name is Rebecka because I wanted to continue the "Rebecka" in my family. Rebecka is also MY first name - I was named after my dad's sister, my Aunt Rebecca :)  Dad had to get cute with the spelling for some reason. Rebecka means "Devoted One" or "Steadfast and Faithful." Destiny was easy because she was a complete surprise. We had decided not to have kids until we were both done with college and had a few dollars in the bank. Apparently, God had different plans. 

Destiny means "Firm in Purpose" and we have always prayed Jeremiah 29:11 over our marriage: "For I know the plans I have for you...plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." We knew that this child's life was not an accident, but absolutely on purpose.

 I adore my firstborn. She has taught me everything about love. She is my heart and soul and my very reason for existence. She makes me laugh like no other. I consider her a genius and believe she will be a very famous doctor one day. She has the biggest imagination of anybody I've ever known. I learn new things about her almost every minute. No one can make me as angry as she can, but no one can melt my heart like she can either. I am convinced that raising children is the most honorable thing anyone can do and I am grateful that God chose me to be Desi's mommy. 

To My Destiny:

I love you with everything that is in me. I am so glad you were born. Your "happy heart" makes my heart happy. Keep dancing and singing and drawing your pictures. Never forget how special and unique you are. I wish I could keep you little forever. 5 years old means the end of baby and the beginning of little girl. I can't wait to see you become an amazing woman...just maybe not anytime soon...I don't think I'm ready yet :)

 Happy 5th birthday, my love. 

P.S. It's o.k. to sleep ;)