My cup runeth over!

So every year at about this time, just before Alexi's birthday I begin vividly remembering what happened during her birth. The nurses and doctors rushing into the room in what seemed like a split second after her heart rate crashed. The yanking of cords and wires from the wall behind the bed. Being rushed to the OR for an emergency C-Section and seeing Shane stand there helplessly as his entire world was wheeled out the door. Feeling her little spirit leave my body as the doctor delivered her. Remembering that I KNEW that she had been born and telling Shane that something was terribly wrong. Looking to him just moments after her delivery while still laying on the operating table and asking him to call Bishop Jones and my brother Joe knowing that they would be needed. The sounds of the hospital and all the alarms/monitors that Alexi was hooked up to. The smell of the NICU. Waking each morning and not being able to get dressed fast enough to go see her. Dreading what we would find when we walked through the door and asked how she did during the night. Not knowing if she would live and feeling totally clueless about what had happened.

(This is the first picture that I saw of Alexi. It was taken about an hour after her birth. I know...overwhelming.)

So much has changed since that night. Holidays have been celebrated, birthdays have come and gone, vacations have been enjoyed and milestones have been reached. Each of these events have come in different ways than I first expected, but they have come. As I look over the past (almost) four years I see so much to celebrate. Alexi is a strong, faithful and sassy little girl. She is patient with me and my shortcomings. She loves unconditionally and is always enduring to the end. Being her mother has strengthened my testimony, given me a greater understanding of the power of the priesthood, humbled me and made me see the beauty in the smallest of God's creations. She has saved me from going down the wrong paths and I am forever indebted to her. That night on August 3rd 2004 one of my greatest blessings came to me in the form of my sweet Alexi. I am so grateful for who she is and what she stands for. I can only hope that someday I can be half as great as she is. I love her with all my heart and I thank the Lord each day for the gift that I have been given.

I Love you Alexi!