6 Months!

I'm sure I say this every months, but seriously time flies!

6 months ago BJ and I were waiting outside a conference room watching as babies were being handed to our new friends, waiting to hear our name and hold our little girl. It was such a surreal moment. Sophia was just about 10 months old then and she could barely sit up for more then a few seconds. She hadn't been able to roll over or crawl, but she was happy! When they handed Sophia to us she was soaking wet and starving so of course she was angry and crying but once we were able to meet her needs she quickly became happy. She has been happy ever since.

I prayed for so many things in the years I waited to be a mommy. People laughed when I said I was praying for a good sleeper (I really value my sleep), that she'd be a good eater. I prayed that she would be smart and beautiful (inside more than out). I prayed that she would adjust well to our lifestyle and that she would have a healthy sense of identity as she grows up. God has so far graciously answered all my prayer (there are millions more and new prayers everyday) but the one that right now I am most thankful for is that my daughter has joy.

It just seems to radiate from inside her. She is almost always smiling and certainly always happy to smile at someone. She seems to know that when she smiles it makes other people smile. She will wave and shout at totally strangers to get their attention so she can smile at them. If she knows that something will make you laugh she will go out of her way to do it. She dances for me all the time just to see me giggle with her. She is delightful and its contagious.

Joy is a gift. Happiness has to do with circumstance and when circumstances change happiness turns to sadness or worse. But joy is an attitude. It is something that transcends what is going on and lifts you when life would have you sink. You can have joy even in the midst of tears.

My prayer has always been that Sophie would be joyful. That as she grows she would maintain that joy. I know there will be time when we will have to have tough conversations, life will cause her pain from time to time, and no matter how much I'd like to pretend that I can protect her from everything, I know that there are tears and fears ahead, but I pray that the joy that seems to well up from deep within her will always be there.