Happy birthday, Kyrie!!

Seven years old. Seven. How did this happen?? I did not give her permission to grow up, let alone to turn 7. As each year comes to an end and another birthday comes and goes, I have such mixed feelings. It never gets easier for me. I lament my sweet little babies growing up and becoming so independent, but I also get so much more excited for their futures and love watching them become these brilliant little people that I have the pleasure of raising.

Seven years ago, this beautiful little girl was a measly 5 pounds 8.5 ounces and was in the NICU at Sacred Heart in Spokane. Now she's 50 pounds, reads at a 3rd grade level, is smart as a whip and is a social butterfly. You'd never know she had such a rough start. This girl takes life by the horns. I love that about her.

Kyrie has always held such a special place in all our hearts, not just Derk and I, but our extended families as well. She was the first grandchild on both sides. Then we were told we'd probably lose her. She recovered so miraculously and quickly and completely baffled the doctors by her progress. It wasn't until I had my sweet little Kyrie that I truly understood the value of family and what a powerful feeling it is to be a mother. Having her was the catalyst that helped me decide to start taking the missionary discussions, because I wanted to be with this little person forever. She is a miracle in so many ways, to all of us. Derk's mom came up with a nickname for her when she was tiny, "Angel", and she had no idea as to how wonderfully perfect that nickname would be.

Kyrie had such a fun day today. Derk surprised her by picking her up at lunch time at school and taking her out to McDonald's. She wanted to hit Chuck E. Cheese for dinner, so that's what we did. And then she asked for Dairy Queen for dessert. I think that's a pretty great birthday, if I do say so myself! :)

When she woke up this morning, she exclaimed, "FINALLY! I'm done with 6!!" :)

To my seven year old:

Kyrie Angelika Stephens, such a beautiful name for such a beautiful girl. You are such an amazing little person. You are vibrant and spunky and full of energy. You love life and inhale knowledge. You are so outgoing and fun and always up for anything. You are constantly singing, from the moment you wake up until we beg you to please stop singing and go to sleep. You are very determined and strong-willed. You are very loving and are the best big sister we could ask for. You are such a blessing to us. Your name means "praise the Lord". We didn't realize how perfect and fitting that name would be until your birth, and we truly do thank our Heavenly Father every day for blessing us with your precious life. We love you so much, Kyrie, not only on your birthday, but always.

Happy birthday!!