Elsie Jane Hoffman,

How can it be that you turn one today? A whole year of knowing you, beautiful-full-of-life-you. I’m not entirely sure how to summarize your first year in one short post, but here is my best attempt.

Before we even knew you were being knit together in my womb, your daddy and I prayed for you. We prayed for the miracle of you, for your health and protection and we prayed for our hearts too. -I hope we are able to express to you as you grow, just how incredibly loved you are. Your life is a priceless gift to your daddy and I and you came at just the right time- you came in God’s timing and that is always the very best!

On the night before you were born, we arrived at the hospital just a couple hours before we would meet you face to face, and as we made our way up to the hospital room, we passed by the Lab on the main floor. This detail may not be important to many, but for your mama, this was one of those moments that marked a new beginning. -The hospital Lab was a place that I visited often in the year leading up to you and it was mostly for hard reasons. Too many times I entered those hospital doors and walked up to the check-in desk at the Lab and thats as for as I made it.

But this night, the night before you were born was a different story.

You were coming quicker than any of us anticipated and as the nurse wheeled me  passed the lab, down to the elevators, it’s as if all of time stood still for a moment as I saw once more, the sitting area of the place that signified a season of hard, a season of waiting. Even in the midst of all that was going on in my body and mind, I was sure that The Spirit wanted me to see God’s faithful hand in that moment. He planted that sight right into the depths of my heart, as if He were whispering that the waiting was finally over- “Daughter, I am making all things new, even in you, your spring is here.”

You see my sweet girl, this life is filled with beautiful joys, the hardest of hard and His overwhelming grace. Oh how I long for you to grow in this understanding, to know, really know, The Father’s love for you- and not only you but for the whole world.

In the last few moments before your arrival, your daddy was by my side the whole time, we listened to songs that hold so much truth and we prayed again for you. We were ready for the biggest miracle of our lives- the birth of you.

Holding you in my arms, after months and months of holding you in my heart and womb, was one of the very best feelings I’ve ever experienced! The overwhelming joy was almost too much to take in. Hearing your cries and feeling your skin on mine. Those first moments of your birth day will be etched into my mind and heart forever.

So here we are a whole year later, you are not my small 7lb baby with wrinkly skin anymore, you are my joyful, busy, 19lb, almost walker. You are my alarm clock and my cuddle bug. You are my happy clapper and music dancer, you are my curious crawler and book lover. You are my paper destroyer and wild thrower. You are my bath-time splasher and my short napper. You are my mommy’s girl and mirror lover. You are a social butterfly and noise maker. You are my mornings and  my nights. You are my joy and my blessing.

You are beautiful, you are full-of-life and you are loved more than you will ever know.

The past 364 days have been the most sacred of my life. They have gone incredibly fast and unbearably slow. You have taught me so many things, more than I ever thought possible in such a short time. Being your mother is and always will be one of the greatest honors of my life. I know that there will be too many times when I let you down or make the wrong call- but my prayer is that you would have the wisdom to see beyond my short comings as your mother and instead gaze into the perfect love of your Heavenly Father. Your daddy and I love you fiercely there is no doubt about that, but the Father’s love is unmatched by even our deepest, most heart-felt love for you.

So today, on the day you turn one, I will do my very best to cherish each moment with you. I will whisper so many thanks to the Father and I will sit with your daddy and reminisce all of the memories we have from the first year of your life. I will probably shed a few tears of joy and acknowledgement of your growth- and then we will CELEBRATE! We will celebrate YOU! and we will celebrate the joy of today, the faithfulness of yesterday and the hope for tomorrow.

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY ELSIE JANE!

With all of my love,

Your mama