The long awaited last holiday weekend of the summer is finally here. Many campers are roughing it for a few days, some people choose to vacation in hotel style. I have to digress from what I had planned on writing about as this is a special day. This year, Labor Day weekend begins on September 1^st, which happens to be the birthday of one of my daughters.  I have six children.  The three boys grew under my heart, the three girls grew in it.

Adoption is an amazing experience to go through. As our case worker told us, “we just do the paperwork, and leave it up to God to do the placing.” And in His perfect timing, I know He gave us the girls for us to call our own. September 1^st is the birthday of Ashley, my youngest daughter.

She is also the free spirit of the family. Often she is climbing mountain peaks or skiing down slopes I would have nightmares about. As a little girl, she changed clothes several times a day, and loved to go shopping in her little heels and carrying her purse. She announced after the marriage of one of her brothers that for her honeymoon she was going to go shopping. She has yet to meet the lucky fella who will spend his honeymoon with her in the mall. One day, sometime in 1995 she was running down the hallway and ran into me as I stepped out of a room into the hall. She bounced, laughed and said “Wow! Running into mommy is like running into a big pillow!” That has actually been a comment I have cherished through the years, as my own children grew too old to sit on my lap, I have become a big, soft, talking pillow for my grandchildren. A quote from Robert Brault is “Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you will realize they were the big things.” How true this is. This little girl who investigated bugs, snakes, eventually fashion magazines and now climbs mountain peaks has and continues to bring us much joy. My prayer is that when I am just a memory for my loved ones, they will be certain of how much I loved them. Happy Birthday Ashley ! May you conquer your dreams as you have the mountain peaks.

 I  Love  You !!!!!