A little memoir for my sweet Lucy Lou!

On February 20th 3 years ago I woke up in the middle of the night feeling a bit off.  I wasn't sure what was wrong, so I got out of bed and then discovered my water had broken.  Guess that is a bonus of being a light sleeper.  Since this was not our first rodeo, I woke Todd and he got on the phone.  Shortly afterward, Uncle Jim had arrived- excited and nervous for us.  We left for the hospital...and then turned around b/c we forgot our camera. :)  Lucy's delivery was not an easy one, it was more like Ava's than Sydnee's.  The epidural only worked on half of my body, which by the way is not very pleasant.  She came in about 12 hours- bright-eyed and happy.  When Ava was born Todd and I were just not sure what to do once she had arrived...with Sydnee we were a little more prepared...and with Lucy we were so excited to meet this new little girl.  Lucy was an easy baby and her sisters and family adored her instantly.  A month into her life she was set to be "blessed" in church and the night before she came down with a really high fever.  Worried, Todd and I took her to the hospital.  We were grateful that Scott & Katie were staying with us, so leaving in the middle of the night was an easy option.  At the hospital, they couldn't figure out what was wrong with her and ran a lot of tests.  Our whole family was in town awaiting the big day, but we had to cancel.  It was a rough 3 days.  We had a fabulous team working on Lucy.  We were especially grateful for our pediatrician, who through some additional testing discovered she had a UTI caused by a level 1 kidney reflux.  With medication we were sent home and we felt so grateful that it was nothing worse.  Lucy took medication for everyday for an entire year and when checked again at a little over a year old, she had outgrown the reflux and everything was normal.

In the time Lucy has been alive, we have had some crazy life experiences.  We began a legal dispute over an illegal foreclosure forced upon us, Todd lost his job, we built a house we were never able to live in, and we moved to a different town- leaving family and friends.  In fact in her 3 years, we've moved 3 times.  And despite the stress that these events have caused, Lucy has always been a little ray of sunshine.  I can't express how grateful I have been for that. Each family member brings something of value into the family dynamic- and Lucy has always been the sunshine on a cloudy day, the laughter among the tears, and the rainbow after the storm.  She is adventurous, and rarely fearful of anything.  She isn't afraid of heights or challenges.  She is a good eater, and willing to try new things.  She has an amazing smile.  Lucy makes friends easily and is happy to tell total strangers, "Hi!"  In fact most of the time, she will say "Hi!" over and over again until she is heard!  She wasn't the first at much of anything- her sisters hold those records.  However, she is capable of getting all of us to do things we normally wouldn't- just to get a laugh or a smile from her.  She is precious beyond words and we all adore her.

Lucy is speaking more these days than she has been and its fun to discover her conversation.  She's been mimicking "talk" for a long time, but now that we know she is actually saying something- its been really fun.  She has her own sweet way of saying her sister's names:  A-ya and Syn-nee (hard to type).  Lucy loves watching cartoons, singing, dancing, playing outside, jumping, Tinkerbell, and Minnie Mouse.  She loves sharing a room with Sydnee and on many nights we will hear, "Lucy!  I'm trying to sleep!" (Lucy is always ready for a party). She is stingy with kisses, but will tell you she loves you over and over again.  She has a great laugh.  She is named after my mother/grandmother's middle name- Louise C and her middle name after my mother-in-law Christine.  I think she represents the best of them all.

I have often thought that I have never met anyone like Lucy.  She is not happy ALL of the time, but most of it- and even when she is upset, she doesn't stay upset long- she moves on quickly.  She can be crying one minute and laughing the very next.  I have no idea what the Lord has in store for this little lady, but I am grateful to be along in the journey and to be able to share her sunshine with the people around us.

Happy birthday my sweet Lucy Christine!  You've made these last 3 years a piece of cake. I am one blessed Momma!  Love you bunches!
xoxo, Me