Savannah

She entered my life in the heart of Texas.  We were strangers there, temporarily assigned by the Air Force while my husband received training.  We had been married only 10 months before and here we were alone in the middle of flat nowhere meeting her for the first time.   "It's boy!" my husband first said and was quickly corrected by the doctor's official pronouncement.   I was absolutely flabbergasted that I would have a girl.  I had just figured it would be a boy 'cause first born boys run on my side.  But there she was, perfect and beautiful and tiny in my arms. From the beginning she was a gift.  Oh, the fun of naming her and dressing her in pink and knowing she was our very own!  God knew we needed her.  Right then.  Ten months after we took our vows.  In the heart of a strange land. On our own.  Without the usual fanfare you'd expect with a first born.  We were a real family now, just starting out on our adventure together and God knew we'd want to share it with her.  It shaped us.  It changed us. It grew us.

And she's been there for all of it.  The five states.  The 10 moves. The next 5 siblings--including 2 adoptions.   The different career paths.  The hard choices that changed our lives.  

She's given us joy, beauty, laughter, sweetness and encouragement all along the way in the different stages and places.  She's provided some frustration here and there as any child will do (there was a reason my husband called her the Banshee after all) but that's to be expected when training a human being from scratch.   The best joy is to see her now loving Christ and desiring to follow Him.

As I look back on these years that have so quickly flown, I see the cute little girl proudly holding a baby brother.  I see a strawberry blanket wrapped around a blond head.  I see cheetahs and horses wearing holes in jeans.  I remember the phone call to "Please tell your daughter to quit kissing my son".  I hear elaborate plans being laid for neighborhood fun, saving up for a horse, making movies, selling paintings and art. (Oh, my.  She IS her father's daughter.) I even hear the tiresome bickering between siblings..wait that's coming from the other room...
I hear friends giggling and see guacamole face masks and star wars films being reenacted. I see bike races and garter snakes.   I can still hear her grandpa giving her his final advice to marry someone who knows Christ--she was only nine, but she listened intently and seriously.  I see her bravely leaving her own dreams to walk the long lonely walk on the first day of high school into the unknown.  I see her emerge 4 years later a beautiful, confident, and joyful leader. It's been quite the ride.  She's been the perfect gift for us, selected by a good and kind God to bless us these past 18 years.  Today we pack her up and take her to college.  Not too far away, but far enough.  We will step back and let her spread her wings.  I can't help but hear the prophetic words from strangers as I held her in my arms back in Texas: "Enjoy her. They grow up so fast."