Happy Birthday Madeleine Joy! (10.18)

I can't believe it has been one year.  One year since I first saw her face, heard her voice, held her in my arms.  How can it have gone so fast?  It seems like just yesterday that we could only wonder what she would be like, what she would look like, how she would change our lives.  The memory is all to fresh of waiting and hoping that she would come, longing for her arrival.
Now, one year later, I can't imagine my life without her.  In many ways it seems like the time has flown, but in others it seems like it has been forever; like she has always been in my life, like I've always been her mother.
I love her radiant smile and her dramatic pout.  I love how she giggles, and how she will run up to me and nuzzle her head in my chest.  I love how she will pull on my skirt so I will pick her up, only to squirm to get back to exploring if I hold her too long.  I love how she runs all over the place and is so curious.  I love how she makes me laugh almost every day with a funny face or sound, (and how I usually tear up at least once a day because I am simply amazed by who she is!)  I love how she has given me new eyes to see the world around me.  I love the wonder she has upon seeing something new, feeling the grass beneath her feet, or tasting something yummy.  I love how she rests on my shoulder when she is tired, and how she quietly goes to sleep snuggling her doll baby.  I love peaking through the door crack at her while she is just waking up and playing in her crib.  I love how she will wave to complete strangers and win them over with her coy smiles (in France we made so many friends of every tribe, tongue and nation on the metro!)  I love how she gets excited about knocking down a tower of blocks, or playing with a box .... and on and on and on ... 
Quite simply I love how she has changed my life, and I love being her mom.  I am so grateful to the Lord for knitting her together, and for allowing Dan and I the privilege to be her parents.  She is such a beautiful little girl, and she brings us so much joy.

Happy birthday ma petite fille, je t'aime mon coeur.  I can't wait to see what this next year brings.