The day my life changed.....

"She's the sweetest little thing I know-ow, she's the sweetest little thing I know.  That's my Ev-a, that's my little girl.  That's my Ev-a, that's my little girl."

I know that song means nothing to you, especially without hearing the melody.  But my mom used to sing that song (sub Sarah for Eva) to me ALL the time.  And by all the time I mean, my earliest memories are of her singing that to me in the dark while she was tucking me in.  She sang it to me when I got hurt, when I was scared, when I couldn't get to sleep, and especially when I was sick.  (She also sung it to me the night before I got married and during an excruciating 23 hours labor with Evelyn.)  She would rub my forehead and look at me like I was the most important thing in the world to her, and sing this little song she made up for me.  I felt like, well, like the most important thing in the world.  I asked her one time where she got that song and she said, "I made it up in the hospital the day my life changed and I had my very own little girl."  I decided something the minute she told me that.  I decided I would have my own very little girl one day, and I would look at her like she was the most important thing in the world to me, and I would sing that song to her.

Fast-forward roughly 18 years.  I (after, as I stated before, a horrendous 23 hour-labor, an epidural that didn't work, and a threat of an emergency c-section) finally got my wish.  Jason and I were blessed with a perfect little china doll, with peaches and cream skin, sky-blue eyes, and absolutely no hair.  Literally, not even eye lashes or brows.  (Remember, Mom?)  She came out mad and with a ferocious headache, but she was perfect.  That was the day my life changed. 

For some reason I blinked and 6 years have gone by.  There are so many things I love about our sweet Evelyn, I can't list them all.  So I chose 6.  Here they are (not necessarily in order of importance).

1- I LOVE that every morning she wakes up, walks into my room, rubs the hair away from my face and whispers right into my ear, "Good morning Mimi..." and then keeps her face at that exact position (so I wake up looking into her face!) until I roll over and make room for her.  It's a great way to wake up.

2-I LOVE that she loves to cook and bake.  I no more than say the words, "E, let's make..." and she's washing her hands in the kitchen sink and telling me that she should be able to have at LEAST 6 chocolate chips because she's almost 6, or that she wants 6 shards of shredded cheese, or she wants to turn the mixer on, or can she crack the eggs?  She's an awesome helper and has already adopted Mimi's OCD habits of wiping crumbs of flour or sugar up immediately after they happen.  :)

3- I LOVE that she's SO fun!  She is always up for a pre-dinner dance party, a "Wednesday Adventure", a tent under the kitchen table, a requirement that you address me as Miss Teacher-Mimi when we play school and answer in the form of a question, or any other wacky idea I think up to keep our days fun.  She is literally one of the most fun people I know.

4- I LOVE how loving she is.  She loves her sister with a passion (most of the time :) and she tells me daily that I'm her best friend. She tells me she's going to marry Daddy and we can share him, and that she wants to start waking up earlier to spend more time with him since he has to work all the time.  If I tear up over missing someone, a prayer request someone is telling me over the phone, or even an Olympic commercial, she comes running.  Really, I might only sniff a tiny bit and she will fly into the room, put her arms around my neck and say, "Mimi, what's wrong???"

5-I LOVE how she loves God.  She talks about wanting to be a good sister to Viv or a good friend to someone at school so they can see God's love.  She often asks why God doesn't have a phone so we can call him and say thank you for "Mimi, Daddy, and dying on the cross for our sins".  She often tells Viv, "Now this is how you get to heaven,....now pay attention because I want you to be there with me".

6-Finally, I LOVE her little sunny disposition.  She (most of the time :) has a smile on her face. She asks me at least once a day, "Mimi, what can I do to help you?"  And when I give her a relatively hard task (i.e. a bottle of Windex, a cloth, and point her towards the closest window, OR a sink full of dirty dishes..) she jumps right in and says, "Mimi, this is FUN!"  She loves to help and just beams when I praise her for a job well done.

This is NOT a complete list, but one that shows her sweet little self.  Happy 6th Birthday to my sweet little girl.  I love you more than you'll ever know.