You live on, Princess

May 15, 2010, heaven gained an angel. Precious Abbie gained her wings too soon, but not without leaving an unforgettable footprint on our lives. Her heart continues to beat on in Gabriella, and we will never forget.

Proud to be their Mommy

I tucked her into bed tonight

(And adjusted her pillow and blankie)

It's been a long exhausting day

(And she sure has been cranky)

She threw every toy from her toy box

And she tossed all her lunch on the floor

She begged me to go out to play

(She just wouldn't let go of the door)

Most people cannot comprehend

The things she has been through

They tell me... "I just can't imagine..."

"How you do all the things that you do."

I sigh... just because they don't realize

How could they ever know?

Just what a precious gift it is

To watch my child grow.

I still remember clearly

Our days in ICU

Hoping, praying, wondering

What were you going through?

Stroking your hand...feeling helpless

Whispering words in your ear

"It's alright my baby"

"Mommy is right here".

Helpless...scared...bewildered

Wanting to just see you smile

Thinking..."I"m not strong enough"

To make it through this trial.

Knowing that... not all children

Survive these surgeries

Day by day...with patience

Constantly praying...for peace.

And so...that is the "secret"

To doing the things...I must do

There is no perfect...inner strength

I guess God brought us through.

And so...when I see... footprints

All over my freshly mopped floor

Or gooey dried banana's

Smudged on the living room door

I wipe it off...with just a smile

Just praying for more to appear

These are my reminders

I'm blessed to have her here.

I tucked her into bed tonight

And as I walked away

I looked up for a moment...and said

"Thank you...for "today".

~Stephanie Husted

Nearing one year

 A couple weeks ago we went back to Loma Linda for a clinic appointment with our transplant team since we are nearing 1 year post transplant. Gabriella's ECHO function was great and her growth is fantastic! They decided to change all of her immuno-suppressants to new ones. For all those transplant people out there, she was on Neoral Cyclosporine and Cellcept, and now on Prograf and Rapamune. Her clinic doctor said that he is finding this medication combination, introduced later post-transplant, yields better long term results in terms of her coronary artery health, mouth/gum issues and kidney function. They also lowered her target levels, which means they have brought back her immune system to the highest it will ever come back. I feel I can safely say without jinxing myself, that she successfully made it one whole year with a suppressed immune system and no major illnesses! Makes me feel like all of those times we either stayed back, were "overly" cautious or went out of our way to keep her away from germs was worth it! And even then, we still let her enjoy so many things.... finding a healthy balance. Of course, it's still not 100% clear now. She still has a suppressed immune system for the rest of her life, but we are out of the harshest part of it and I couldn't be happier!!

We took the opportunity while going there to enjoy the beach, naturally. My kids are such beach babies!!!

And we also got to spend Easter with our friends at Restoration Covenant in Redlands, CA!






And have lunch with our previous Loma Linda Ronald McDonald House neighbor and fellow heart recipient, Logan!

We are returning in June to Loma Linda for quite a few appointments and tests. Paul, PJ and I all had our genetic testing done and submitted so when Gabriella and I return to Loma Linda, we will meet with the geneticist and go over the results in detail with our geneticist. Gabriella will also have a clinic appointment with our transplant team, a kidney function test, and her sedated biopsy to test for rejection. It will be an overwhelming few days of appointments, information and testing results but we are faithful in the results.

Life continues to throw us curveballs of different kinds, but we continue to move forward. Remembering how blessed we are is never forgotten, no matter how clouded the earthly problems or human judgement tries to make it. 

All settled in... finally

Can you believe less than a year ago, this little girl was in heart failure, hardly communicating and uncertain of her future? Just less than 11 months later, this is my maturing big girl... proving to the world miracles do happen.




The last few weeks have been filled with boxes, buckets of paint and hammers. We got keys to our new place mid-March (a rental that a friend owns) and did a whole bunch of updating to the place! A few weeks of painting, fixing, installing, moving, unpacking.... and now I sit here.... pooped. LOL! We love our new place though. The kids still share a room because they just do better together, but now we have a 3rd bedroom we use as a playroom/ sewing room/ school room. In a couple years when it is "so not cool" to share a room with your brother, PJ will move to the 3rd bedroom... haha! The rent is the same as what we were paying before and the landlord is a million times better, so it is a deal you can't beat. There is a great play area for the kids in our private little patio/courtyard that is secure and spacious, and they are loving it!

Hopefully soon we will have some before/after pictures to post. If I can catch it on a day when it is cleaned up, of course!

Gabriella is excelling in math, my smart little cookie. We have her not only doing home school and homebound through the school district, but also attending the Kumon Learning Center for math and reading. Seriously, get your kids into a Kumon Center. The rate that she is progressing is ridiculous. She struggles in reading, but much of that has to do with the brain to speech issues she still struggles with. BUT Kumon is helping her inch along faster than she would without any additional support! I am still struggling with what to do for 1st grade. Do I keep homeschooling her, which comes with a heavy weight of both pros and cons, or do I send her to school, which comes with its own unique qualities? I would be lying if I said I wasn't losing sleep over it, because I literally am. I want the best possible scenario for her in both education AND medical, that making this kind of a decision is huge and difficult.

Plus, you cannot do school in this kind of style when you go to a public setting....




Paul and I served dinner at the Ronald McDonald House in Phoenix on March 20, in memory of Abbie and what would have been her 4th birthday weekend. It was a blessing to serve the families there, but also pretty amazing for Paul and I to do it ourselves. We had some amazing friends make dessert, and my extremely talented cook of a mother-in-law made sides. I make a few chicken green chile casseroles which turned out super great! We had so much food left over since the house was not full, we were able to take some to the Phoenix Rescue Mission, in hopes to fill a few more stomachs.






PJ has started T-ball and is the cutest little man out there! He has so much fun playing, and oddly enough is SO extremely well behaved and listens to the coach so well. You would never guess he is my wild monkey here at home! Somehow, I thought it would be a good idea to sign up for team mom, so I am in charge of all of the mom-ish duties... which is kinda fun in its own way. :)




We have also kept busy with activities like the Mended Little Hearts Picnic last weekend, as well as the HopeKids event to see the Arizona Rattlers play (my FAVORITE live sport).








We are looking forward to a trip in a few weeks to California. Gabriella has clinic over there, so we are going to go a few days in advance, hit Sea World with our gift tickets given to us by Ronald McDonald House, and hang out with friends for a weekend. This clinic will be our last under our transplant coverage, so we need to get in one more time before the approval expires and it will be harder to get in and talk about their plan for her in the future, frequency of tests, things to watch for with her CMV sensitivity and young age, etc. I am looking forward to filling up a notebook with info from these amazing doctors, and seeing many of our angels in lab coats while we visit Loma Linda.

I hope this blog finds all my readers well! I fear no one reads anymore now that our storm has settled... but if you still do I thank you. Keep the cycle of miracles going. Gabriella's story is far from over and there is still work to be done. We have been blessed in an unrepayable way, so our attempts to spread the word of God and organ donation, giving back and being there for others will never fade.

Recent Gabriella Updates

Back in August 2010, Gabriella was taken off a routine medication given to most transplant kids called Valcyte. All kids are taken off this med at 90 days post transplant, Gabriella no different. It is used to prevent an outbreak of CMV, cytomegalovirus, in a transplant case where the recipient and/or the donor are positive for it. CMV is something minor to the average person but highly dangerous for a transplant case. Gabriella started to show elevated levels for CMV quickly after taking her off the medication, landing us in the hospital in August.

Here are those old posts:

August 20, 2010: Our unplanned vacation to the hospital

August 25, 2010: Chillin & Infusin'

August 31, 2010: Follow up on the CMV

After that very intensive treatment regimine, they put Gabriella back on the Valcyte for 6 months to give her body more time. Well, 6 months is up and we decided last week to stop the Valcyte. EEEK! We are hoping that it was just premature for Gabriella's system to come off of it in August and we will be successful this time! The highest risk for her to show active CMV is 3 months, giving us until June to closely monitor her. Since we have nothing major happening until the summer, we thought this was a good time to see what happens. We will be back on more frequent blood draws to watch for those levels and I will again be watching her like a hawk for those freckled spots she showed the first time. Our post-transplant journey and Gabriella's recovery has been so amazing, I couldn't have asked for a more perfect scenario. I am praying that this does not turn into a hurdle!

They also had to increase her cyclosporine levels once again, which is her most important immunosuppressant. She is growing and we are thankful for that!!!

Gabriella is doing wonderful between her homeschooling, homebound teachers, speech therapy and now attending the Kumon center. We had been having such a difficult time with her numbers in result of her aphasia. She was having the hardest time remembering anything past 10, but thanks to the Kumon method she is up to 30! The repetition is just what she needed for retaining the numbers and while she is still struggling a little, she is making progress! We are really eager to get her started back in dance... hoping this summer session will be possible financially for us!

I hope the coming of spring is bringing renewing power into your life!!!!

The finish line

I told you last week about Ethans Run that I planned on participating in on Saturday.

Well..... I survived it!

I had never before ran a distance, but have been running on a treadmill and working out, building my endurance since October. I was fully intending to run a 5K (3.1miles) soon, but this 10K kinda happened!

It was a struggle emotionally and mentally, for sure. Out of the first 3.5 miles, a little over 3 was uphill, and pushing Gabriella in a stroller while tackling it was a feat. Convincing myself I could do it was difficult, seeing as how I'm stubborn and that flows into my internal battles! We ran the first mile, half of the 2nd, walked the 3rd, ran half the 4th, all of the 5th, walked about a quarter of the 6th but finished off running. The hills for the first 3.5 miles made it hard to see what I could really do, but towards the end Gabriella kept cheering me on telling me I could win it. That along kept my legs moving!

By the 4th mile, Paul ran ahead of me and it was just Gabriella and I. I thought of all of the kiddos who are now smiling in pictures as I see updates on Facebook or blogs and figured if they could smile after all they had fought through, I could manage 91 minutes of running. I started envisioning Gabriella the day after transplant, walking the halls of Loma Linda. I had never had more of a hero than I did at that moment, and knew that if she could do that, I could take my healthy body and able legs to the finish line. But I had to think of myself, too. When I really step back to see what I managed to trudge through while I grasped onto faith that my daughter would live, laying sleepless at the foot of her hospital bed while she fought for her life post-stroke, faithfully making sure she met every appointment and therapy and worked on her words at home, never backing down from an insurance company or state service in getting Gabriella what she needed, and trying to be the best wife and mother to PJ amidst it all.... I could run this.

I finished in 91minutes. Not the greatest time ever, but the first 2 words mean more... I finished. And the best part was Gabriella hopped out of the stroller at mile marker 6 (adorning the adorable face of our friend Owen) and ran the last .2miles with me!

I was so pumped after this run, that I took advantage of signing up for the Walk for Wishes, benefiting Make-a-Wish. We all know how much I love my Make-a-Wish and Ronald McDonald House Charities!!! I had fully intended to volunteer but made other plans for the weekend and never signed up. When my plans fell through, I was super excited to sign up and run the 5K there! The team I created is called 'Hearts for Wishes', and I made the team name more general so other heart moms or just friends could sign up! There is a 1 mile walk, 5K walk and 5K run.

Videos of Hope

There have been some great videos and articles come up this past week as Congenital Heart Defects Awareness week came to an end. While the National week of observance is over, CHD's continue to be just as prevalent in the lives of thousands of families around the country.

Mended Little Hearts of Phoenix put together a great video with pictures of local area CHD warriors and facts about heart defects. I encourage you to watch it, not only for the education of the facts, but to see the strength in these children. (And Gabriella pops up in there, too)

And another video and news article on our sweet friend Lauren. Lauren is waiting for a heart at Loma Linda. Her mom was one of the amazing women I met and grew a bond with while attending the support group at Loma Linda. Little Lauren is a teeny bundle of pure amazing, and we are praying that this family's faith and strength continue to provide Lauren with the support she needs to wait for the perfect heart.

Laurens Story: http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_News_Local_D_heart15.20bc47b.html

Ethans Run 10k

A very last minute decision and encouragement from the mom of Ethan, Paul & I will be running a 10k tomorrow for hearts in Arizona.

Ethans Run is in it's second year operating, and all money raised goes to the Congenital Heart Center at St Josephs Hospital here in Phoenix to help raise awareness and support local families of heart babies and kids. Please read about baby Ethan on Ethans Run website!

Much of the reason we had decided not to do this run was financial, and also that 6+ miles seems a bit overwhelming! But we are now attending and will push through for and with all of our local heart friends!!!

Genetic testing results

In November we went to Loma Linda to have her 6 month follow-up done and have genetic bloodwork drawn. We had hoped her bloodwork would give us some answers on her condition. She had something they rarely see, Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy with Restrictive presentation, and questions were out there as to whether or not it was genetic and what it could possibly mean.

I got a call today from the genetics doctor at Loma Linda. Everything is still in the very early stages of gathering some answers, but I will share a few things here. Gabriella did have a change in the gene associated with cardiomyopathy, meaning she was born with the mutation and it was not anything that happened during my pregnancy that caused her condition. That was a slight relief, because I naturally had little bits of me that wondered. The issue with this gene, which I will call the T gene because the code names won't mean anything to all of you, is that it is the type of mutation that shows in adult onset cardiomyopathy, in ones 20's or 30's. So why did Gabriella fall into heart failure at 4 years old? This take us to a second gene mutation they found, we will call the M gene. On file, this combination of mutations has not ever been recorded in a case of cardiomyopathy. Given that they have not seen this combined, there are no statistics or information available. The genetics doctor says this causes her to consider that the M gene mutation caused the T gene mutation to progress, causing Gabriella to fall into a condition she shouldn't have experienced until later in life and at a much less severe level. This M gene, in my understanding, is like an instigator that made the T gene issues bigger than they needed to be.

The question is, where did the T gene come from, and is the M gene present in the parent that the T gene is present in? This is why Paul and I will now go forward with testing. Knowing which one of us, if either of us, carries it, we can better prepare not only our future but the future our son PJ and of the children on either given side of the family.

The other question, the one much harder for me to swallow, is that with this combination of mutations still in her blood, is her transplanted heart at risk? Doctors words to my question today, "it is possible." She did reassure me that Gabriella is going to be closely monitored for the rest of her life, with or without this information, but this may just mean we need to be a bit more conservative in her testing and monitoring to catch an early onset of HCM with Restrictive presentation again. The only thing this says to me is RISK. IF this did happen, the chances a transplant board would approve her for transplant listing are slim, given she has a condition that is chronic and it would happen again to a new heart. On the flip side, there is an equal chance this will not happen again to her transplanted heart and we will move forward as if she is solely a transplant case.

Now onto my selfish emotional moment.... The hardest part of this is, as most of you heart moms or moms of medically fragile kids know, I have dedicated my life to not just my kids but to this condition I have no control over but must maintain. I give 100% of myself to ensure Gabriella has the possibility of moving through the steps of life like any other kid her age. I try and do everything possible so she does not feel the exceptions that are in her life like the medications, bloodwork, side effects, invasive frequent doctors visits, therapies, etc. I want her to not worry about anything else other than just being a kid, like other kids do with ease. I want her to worry more about the new Justin Bieber movie or the super cute new headband she just got like the average 6 year old than the next ECHO or blood draw. While it seems simple in the grand scheme of things, it takes constant work on my end to always make sure everything is in line. While most parents work hard to make sure their kid has all the opportunities life has to offer, parents of kids like mine want that just as bad but have to jump through hoops of fire to achieve it. I am not complaining and wouldn't change this life for anything, but it is in fact difficult, I will not lie. Then, when you think you are in a groove of maintaining everything, you are told something that yet again changes the game, like I was today. My whole life invested in this- I silently carry the burden of the possibilities of her future while everyone enjoys her success of today. I praise God for the blessing we have been given, with a constant thought of what might be.

The biggest concerns up until today have been the side effects of the medications over the future, kidney function, possible coronary artery disease or losing this heart to slow rejection... I felt I was over the fear of such an uncontrollable and deadly disease taking over her heart, since the diseased heart is gone. Now, I have to always wonder if or when she might be faced with this defect again. No matter what else we find in her bloodwork, no data will tell us God's will. We must use this information as a tool for preparation. But given that being in my position, a heart mom, who I am now... this will always linger in the back of my brain.

It is impossible to explain, I am noticing. The burden and blessing of information... the way it changes everything for me as her mom knowing it is possible to come back just as much as it is that it won't happen. Though any more information won't change what is in Gabriella's bloodwork, I will be sure to update any new information we find about the origin of this CHD.

Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week

This week spotlights the need for awareness and increased funding for research for Congenital Heart Defects (CHD's). Did you know that it was CHD week? Probably not... because awareness for this #1 cause of death in infants is not widely advertised.

Our Family in March 2010- From Portraits

Every year 40,000 babies are born with a CHD. Half of them will need an invasive heart surgery sometime in their youth, while thousands will never make it to their first birthday and thousands more will not make it to adulthood. Almost half of those who have a congenital heart defect have a more complex CHD and will also suffer from neurological or developmental disability, much like my Gabriella. There are 40+ kinds of CHD's recognized but no prevention or cure for any of them.

Gabriella, September 2009, Stroke survivor

Early screening can help save infants born with an undetected CHD. By simply requesting Pulse-Oximetry while in the first days at the hospital, a congenital heart defect can be detected. Efforts of the heart community, and especially a sweet friend Kristine, and one day this will be a requirement.

Gabriella suffered from Restrictive & Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.... which is the leading heart disease leading to heart transplants. It is also the leading cause of sudden cardiac death in adolescent athletes. It is silent and unpredictable, unless increased screening becomes normal practice. We were given the opportunity to find Gabriella's condition because of an attentive pediatrician, but that is not always the story for all cases.

May 2010, Gabriella's Heart Transplant

The best news though is that just recently, the statistics show that 50% of the CHD survivors are adults, meaning children and youth are growing and living longer with their CHD's! Walking past you in the mall, sitting by you in the theater, there are 2million people, adults and children, walking around with a CHD. Did you know, my sister is a CHD survivor adult (minor CHD) who is a dancer and happily married 25 year old woman. CHD lives everywhere.

Spread the word, share this blog with your friends. With medical advances and increased awareness, more and more people will survive their congenital heart defect and live to do great things! By the grace of God, our Gabriella is one of them!!! Pray for the warriors fighting through their CHD, and pray for the angels gone to be whole in heaven.

(statistics taken from http://www.chfiowa.org/chd_facts.htm)

National Heart Month

Every year since 1964 American Presidents have declared February as National Heart Month. Sunday, President Barack Obama reiterated this tradition asking Governors of the States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, officials of other areas subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, and the American people to join him in recognizing and reaffirming our commitment to fighting cardiovascular disease.

Read the official press release from the White House

Our 9th Anniversary

Paul and I married 9 years ago today on February 2, 2002 at the ripe ages of 19 and 20. We have been through an insane 9 years, most of that insanity in the last 2 years! But because of all we have survived and experienced together, we are stronger than ever. Our relationship is set apart from the average marriage, and I am thankful for that. He is a wonderful father, a loving husband and a loyal friend. I love you Pauly...

Cries of a little girl... Why God?

We have given quite a few updates and prayer praises over the last almost 2 years on our sweet friend, Kate. While she is not a CHD or heart kiddo, she is close to our hearts just the same. We go to church with this precious family, and Gabriella has had a deep and spiritual bond with Kate even long before they met. Kate's story can be found on her Caringbridge site, which I will post below.

Kate had a follow-up scan today to see the status of her brain tumor, to find horrifying news. There are new spots on her brain, and things have gone from calm to critical in one day. Please read her update on February 1 at 5pm http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mcraekate

I ask that you be in fervent prayer for Kate McRae and her family as they potentially face more struggles. I can only place this news in proportion to Gabriella, and to hear that she was in heart failure again and faced another heart transplant would absolutely tear me apart. Holly and Aaron, her parents, need all of the strengthening prayers you can send as they push through more trials with their precious princess. And please be in prayer for Kate, who cried "Why daddy, why? Why hasn't Jesus healed me?" this afternoon. May Gods peace and comfort cover this little one who has known more than she should have to.

Little news is good news

It has been increasingly difficult to blog lately. We cut internet out of our budget in our belt tightening efforts last fall, and I use an app on my phone to Tether my connection. The problem is it is a VERY unreliable internet connection and also a pain in the booty to use! I have tried blogging from my phone, but they are no longer delivering! We are hoping soon to reintegrate internet into our budget for a multitude of reasons, so here is to blogging more!

Gabriella has been doing amazing. We have been going complete months without visits to Cardiology. We are still having issues getting her immunosupression medications balanced because she is metabolizing them in an unpredictable manner. Plus, she is growing. Right now her levels are very low, meaning she is not as protected as she needs to be to prevent rejection, so we are working on new dosages. Her magnesium deficiency is finally controlled though! The keloids on her scar have started to fade and she proudly shows everyone her scar, still.

After working on it for months and months, Gabriella started homebound education, speech and occupational therapy this week! This adds 7 hours to our previous homeschool schedule, outpatient therapies with Miss Lisa and any other doctors appointments we may have. The need for me to stay home continues, and I am gladly obliging. Though it is difficult at times, I couldn't imagine going to work and leaving it up to others to tend to Gabriella's needs. I hope to be able to eventually integrate some part time weekend work into the situation to help us get out of this extreme financial emergency we have been living for a while, but until then, we continue to remain faithful and thankful to God for providing!

Gabriella's speech has been out of this world. Her sentences are becoming more complete and clear, her retrieval and execution of words is without effort and her ability to retain information has expanded to new levels. We couldn't be more proud of her and her progress. With all of the schooling evaluations lately, we have been told continuously how smart she is and how she is right on track for Kindergarten! This is such a blessing seeing her at this level when just a year ago she she was nowhere near this. She even has the typical 6 year old answer to "what did you learn today?" and says "I dunno". :)

On that note, we are moving, again. It seems to be a clockwork announcement on this blog, as this will be our 5th move in 2 years! Though I was hoping this announcement would come stating that we were relocating back to our beloved California, we are staying in Arizona. January 2009 we did a short sale on our rural home of 7 years and moved into town to a lovely rental. Gabriella was diagnosed that summer and we moved September 2009 in with my mom to prepare for transplant. We then moved in April 2010 to our apartment, since we were kept off of the transplant list longer than we hoped due to Gabriella's stroke and I couldn't live with my amazing mom forever. Five weeks later in May 2010 we moved to Loma Linda for transplant and returned to Arizona September 2010 to the same apartment. The apartment we moved into is a lovely little 2 bedroom apartment. It has been an affordable option for us, and a safe shelter when we needed it. Knowing our lease renewal was quickly approaching, I decided to see what was out there since our rent was increasing. Though our apartment is great, with 2 kids sharing a room who are still very into toys and a momma who could occupy a 1000sf location in my sewing and crafting alone, we are bumping elbows frequently and triple using spaces like our little $20 Ikea table for dinner, sewing and schoolwork. One little comment on Facebook and the BIG hand of God, a lovely friend let us know that she coincidentally got a call from her tenant right after I posted my status that he needed to move and downsize and her place would be available. Three bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, garage and 300sf more space for the same exact price as our apartment is increasing to. If that wasn't fate and Gods divine plan, I don't know what it was! Between ourselves and the homeowner, we are going to fix this place up super nice and get all settled in this spring! We are excited to move into a place that seems to be longer term, since our moving around has always been for short commitments and an unsettled view of the future. Of course, as sure as I say that, God will remind me that His plan is bigger than mine.... lol.

Not too sure when we will head back to Loma Linda. We technically were to return in early February for genetics follow-up but due to financial constraints that probably won't happen. We would love to go back for her 1 year biopsy which is quite routine, but I feel slightly torn. I would love for her heart hospital to do it, as we feel we are still very much part of the heart family there. Our insurance company also expects for us to go and do it there, as they are the surgical hospital associated with her transplant. But then we have our team of doctors here that can do it, and I worry about them thinking that us going is a sign of lacking trust, though it is not. We just have a special connection to Loma Linda, and feel it would be continuing what we began there with our transplant team. We will see what comes of it... but wherever we do it I am just praying for a big fat ZERO rejection!!!!!

Finally, Gabriella's Make-a-Wish is recharging as we speak and we are hoping to soon have our wish granters visit and receive Gabriella's wish (again). Since we went through the process in August 2009 but could not go on the trip due to Gabriella's sudden stroke, we must redo everything! Gabriella's wish has slightly changed as well! Can't wait to share all the details of this with all of you!!!!!!

A Blessed Birthday

I love her 5th birhtday post so much that I will add it here with a continuation.....

Oh, my dear Gabriella. How you have grown.....

So tiny, so fair. January 14, 2005 at 957am you blessed our lives and the lives of so many. We had no clue when you came into the world that morning what a difficult journey you would live so young, and what an impact you would make on so many people.

From early on, you have always been so observant and so intelligent. You absorbed your surroundings, paid mind to the small details and observed to learn. You were my little doll and my best friend.

Your independence and spunk have been your well known traits! Strong minded and diva-ish, if you will. But the sweet and loving, super sensitive side of you is never far from the surface.

As you grow and mature, I am overwhelmed with pride. You are becoming an even more amazing little girl. Even when you test your limits, I wouldn't change that for the world. You will succeed and shine bright because you make yourself known.

You have endured and prevailed through so many things in your life so far. Things most people will never have to face. You are my hero. You are a hero to many.

Yes, you made me a mother and have blessed my life, but you have also changed me. I could never return the blessing to you that you have been to me.

I love you, my 'Princess'. My 'MommaGirl'. My 'Little'. Though we didn't know last year if God would give you us to celebrate your 6th, we had faith you would be here for decades to come. Today we celebrate another year given, another day lived and another moment treasured!