My sweet little 3-days-after-Christmas-present Ashley Noelle (otherwise known as "Ash Bash", "Ashley Noellie Belle", "Ash Bug", "Ashy Boo Boo".....you get the idea, we like nicknames!) : ) turned EIGHT years old today! Eight years ago today, December 28th, 2001 at 4:44 pm my precious little Ashley was born! I became a Mommy again for the second time & my dream of having little "sissies" came true! I love & adore my big sister so I longed to have that same relationship for my girls! When my sweet little Ashley was born I had TWO sweet little girls! A life-long friend & baby sissy was given to my sweet little 2 year old Amy that day! Seeing my two little girls together just absolutely melted my heart! I loved seeing Amy cuddle her new baby sissy & be SO excited that her "Ashy Baby" as she used to call her was finally here! My precious little newborn weighed 7 pounds 10 ounces & was 19 1/2 inches long! She had light brown hair (which quickly turned blond!), beautiful little blue eyes, the adorable little Palmer button nose, cute little dimples AND the sweetest little dimple right on the END OF HER NOSE! It was one of the first things that I & Randal's Mom "Gram", noticed when she was put on my tummy right after she was born! Sometimes I will still say, "Ashley, I still remember what I said the first time I held you right after you were born, "Awwwww, she has......." & Ashley will say, "I know, I know Mommy......a cute little dimple on her nose!"! It makes me laugh that she knows exactly what I'm going to say but it's true, I still remember that day like it was yesterday! : ) I also still remember the sweet emotions of the first time I held my Ashley in my arms! I was one of my most favorite things....... MOMMY......... AGAIN!!!!!!!!!! My heart was overflowing with such amazing & deep love for my new baby girl! I was so grateful to God that He chose to bless me, once again, with my new baby, my precious little gift! Being the Mommy of TWO was definitely different. I learned to divide my attention between two little ones, that I really DID have enough love for both (actually an overflowing amount!) & that I needed God's grace even more to care for my two precious little girlies! I LOVE being the Mommy of my little girls! I am SO grateful!!!!!!!!!! As part of Ashley's birthday gift, we went on a date to Kohl's, Target & Starbucks a few days before her birthday! As we walked around Target sipping our Starbucks & giggling together, I had the same feelings, emotions & thoughts that I did when my Amy turned 10 earlier this month.......amazed at how my sweet Ashley is growing! She is a young lady now who has her own thoughts, dreams & wants to really "talk" to Mommy! She's my little girlfriend! It was such a sweet but emotional day for me! I kept thinking how tiny she used to be, how much she "needed" Mommy to do things for her & now she is growing into such a beautiful, amazing, godly, precious young lady who loves to do things for ME (& her Daddy & her 4 sissies!)! Ashley is an amazing help to Mommy! One of the things I love the most about my Ashley is how nurturing she is! God has given her a natural gift for caring for her sissies! She is also HILARIOUS! She has a great sense of humor & perfect comedic timing! She always knows how to keep us laughing & her little one liners are just classically funny! I just can hardly believe how blessed I am to be my Ashley's Mommy, to be her friend, to have her in my life everyday, to get to experience her hilarious sense of humor, to enjoy her eye for fashion, to watch how she loves her sissies & to see how sweetly & selflessly she serves her sisters, to watch her grow in her relationship with God & to watch her growing everyday into an amazing young lady who glorifies God & blesses her Daddy & Mommy! Wow, this precious little girl is MINE! I love my sweet little girl SO much & I am SO grateful to God for my Ashley! Happy 8th Birthday my Ashley Noelle! Daddy, Mommy & your 4 sissies love you with ALL of our hearts!
