To my LizzieLou...

     I STILL remember the day that my momma told Mary Ashley, Maggie and me that she was pregnant with Lizzie.  She was wearing jeans, a cream sweater and had a smile on her face as she broke the news to us.  I have NO memory of how Mary Ashley or Maggie took the news, but I remember that I took it VERY badly...I did NOT want another sibling and thought that our family of 5 was already a little too big.  I was 10 years old and Lizzie was born when I was 11.

     The day that Lizzie was born, I remember going up to the hospital to meet her.  We went into the room and she looked different than what I thought.  When it was time for my momma to go home, I somehow ended up at the hospital with just my daddy.  We walked into the room and my momma was laying sideways on the bed, wearing the same clothes that she had worn the day she announced she was pregnant.  Her legs were hanging off of the hospital bed, bent at the knees and I couldn't believe how flat her stomach was.

     She was wheeled downstairs and my daddy took her out to the car.  While they were going to the outside, they handed me Elizabeth and I sat in a chair and rocked her while they were gone.  She was so tiny, all snuggled up, wrapped tight, and I rocked back and forth and made up my own little song...

"I love you so much...I love you so much...I love 

you so much my little baby..."

     I sang it over and over and over until my daddy came back to get me and Elizabeth and take us out to the car to join momma.  From that moment on, I spent many years watching Elizabeth, reading to her, playing with her, bringing her along with my friends and me and cuddling her when she crawled into my bed at night...

     My parents named her Elizabeth and my momma was adamant that people call her Elizabeth, not Lizzie, not Liz, not any form of any nick-name.  But, over the years, that changed and now most people call her "Lizzie"...even her Facebook name is Lizzie, so if it's on Facebook, its official.

     When she was very young, Lizzie started to complain of ants crawling in her ears.  Turns out she had Mastoiditis in her left ear!  They had to remove part of the bone and so she began to turn her head when people spoke to her and tell us to "tell me in my good ear".  So, if you are talking to Lizzie and feel like she is totally ignoring you, she's not...get on her other side and tell her in her good ear!

   
     As she grew up (quickly), Lizzie wanted to be like "the big girls" so if she went anywhere with me, she wanted to carry my purse, cell-phone and bags so that she looked like she was the adult walking around town, shopping and making purchases.

     At the same time, she became obsessed with her sports ability.  She would wear these cute patterned spandex shorts and matching tops, bend her front knee, lean forward and rest one hand on her thigh, straighten her back leg and rest the other hand on her hip and then ask with much enthusiasm, "Am I a biker or a runner?".  We would all act like we were seriously considering the question and then yell out "Biker!" or "Runner!".  Changing up our answer each time was essential or she would catch on that we weren't taking her seriously.  Funny thing is...she became a runner!

     Every sport Lizzie played, she did well.  She wanted to be a cheerleader and it fit her perfectly.  A ballerina was on her Bucket List and she danced so well in a school play that people thought she had taken years of lessons.  She was the Student Body President.  She's a friend to everyone.  Supporter of what's right.  Throw on some heels and a dress and she fits right in with the politicians.  Go barefoot and ride on the back of a motorcycle in the jungle and she fits right in with the natives.  She moved away to college, made friends, got involved in ministry and held down a decent job like it was second nature.  She's effortlessly beautiful and talented.  I always tell her that I can totally see her growing up, traveling the world, speaking to thousands of people and making a difference...

     Up until now, Lizzie has already done SO MUCH with her life...today, she is welcoming her 20's and I can't wait to see what she does with these years!

     Even though Lizzie is no longer a baby, I will always see her as MY baby...I LOVE to hug her way to tight, swing her back and forth like a madwoman and say "You're just a little baby" over and over again in a super obnoxious baby voice while I'm stroking her hair.  It's the little things that bring me joy!

     As soon as the movie Brave came out, I KNEW that this character perfectly portrayed my Lizzie.  In the beginning of the movie, she sneaks away from the castle, rides her horse through the woods, her red, crazy hair is blowing all over the place, she climbs a cliff and dances on the top by a waterfall.  Watch clip HERE.

THIS.  IS.  LIZZIE.  

Beautiful

Fearless

Free

Happy Birthday Lizzie...I love you!