Ainsley Kate

"and she said to him, "As surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD. I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give her to the LORD. For her whole life she will be given over to the LORD." " 1 Samuel 1:26-28

When I was around 15, I heard someone speak about praying for our future...Praying for our future husband and our children. At that time, when I was so young, the Lord put it on my heart to pray for these people that I had not yet met. For years I have done this. I prayed for my husband (who happened to be right beside me) and for the children that my heart longed for even then. How wonderful that God would give me exactly what I asked! When I was pregnant with our second baby and we were to find out what we were having, of course I never let "I'm hoping for a girl" come out of my mouth, but in my heart I so wanted a baby girl...when the tech told us it was a girl, my first thought was, "Only God truly knows my heart's desire (selfish as it is) and he granted me that. I will never deserve that." I was so overwhelmed with joy that day, yes, because I was having the perfect addition to our family, but more because I was finally understanding God's grace and His willingness to bless us and to just love on us, even when we are far from deserving....

Today, my sweet little girl is 1! (bittersweet) I am so grateful to be able to call her mine! I wondered how I could have any more room in my heart after Noah, but one year ago today, she changed all of that.

Ainsley is a precious, smart, and silly one year old. She is always smiling from ear to ear and is always eager to see you smile back. She loves her big brother, and always keeps him on his feet (size is not an issue to her :) ) Oh- and she plays the perfect princess, just as her daddy treats her. What a joy Ainsley is! I'm so thankful to be her mommy :)

Happy Birthday, baby.