Happy Birthday Alissa!

Today my Alissa Jean turns 12 years old.

I like to think about the moment I first saw her. She had had the cord around her neck, so they whipped her away pretty quick and were working to get her breathing. Then, her body temp was low, so they had her in a warmer. I was thinking, "I worked hard to get that baby here; I want to hold her!" The doctor was talking about sending her to the NICU at another hospital if her temp wouldn't come up. Then, the nurse came in and said, "I want to try something." She brought Alissa to me and laid her right on my chest, skin-to-skin, and I held and snuggled her close. In 15 minutes, her temperature came right up, her breathing settled, and she was alright.

Now, that once tiny little girl is my tallest 12-year so far. At 5'6", she is long arms and long legs and well, tall! I love to watch her enter a room. She is confident, her head high, her shoulders back, quick to smile. She is quickly mastering so many new things: math and reading and basketball and cello. She is extremely perceptive and often makes us laugh at the way she truly gets the world. Like the time Josh came home from college and he was saying "freakin'" before and after and in the middle of every sentence. After a half day of this, Alissa asked him, "Why is everything 'freakin'?"

I love the artist in her, that joys in paint and pen and paper and creating. She is excellent at drawing and I have determined to stop asking her, "Did you trace that?" She gets very insulted. I am delighted that she decided to play the cello and that she keeps me on my toes in my own practicing: "Watch your thumb, Mom." I rejoice in the affection she has for her dad, who is the best at helping her through her trials and troubles and teases and challenges her.

You are a wonder, Alissa Jean--Lissy bear--Lulu--thanks for being my girl!