Three sweet years...

My little girl is three today. Whoa. Where did the past three years go? It seems like yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital on cloud nine to finally hold our 7 pound, 8 oz baby girl.

Our lives were filled with complete awe and joy over this precious gift that was given to us.

She has grown into the sweetest, most stubborn, cutest, loving, dramatic, whiniest, smartest, and feistiest little three year old I know. She loves her "pig" that travels everywhere with her. She loves chocolate chip muffins, skittles, pajamas, beef stroganoff, shoes, swinging, little figurines, Dora, books, naps, icing, sour patch kids, legos, her sissy, gymnastics, crayons, and her Gran.

She loves to wear pajamas mixed with a crazy hat, socks that don't match, and shoes. She is a mama's girl in the morning and the sweetest snuggler around. She's a daddy's girl at night and loves for him to give her a bath, tuck her in, and say prayers. She is the cutest when she says the blessing.  She squeezes her eyes so tight and says "God is good, God is great, thank you Jesus for our food" so fast you can barely understand her.

She blows us away daily with how smart she is and her growing vocabulary. She can write her name, knows all 26 letters and their sounds, can count to twenty, and recite books as if she can really read them. She is precious through and through.

She is demanding, whiny, stubborn, and dramatic. Most days it is her way or no way. She is particular about her food, her blankets, her clothes, her pillows, her hair...everything. She is incredibly shy. She won't let us sing "happy birthday" to her and doesn't talk to most people she doesn't know. She refuses to have her picture made without a bribe and freaks out if she gets a little embarrassed. She makes me want to pull my hair out some days, but will melt my heart with how she says, "I love you".

Everyday we pray that she comes to know the Lord at an early age. Really love him. We pray that she lives her life trying to honor him. We pray that she finds her identity in Christ, not in who the world says she should be. We pray that her husband walks with the Lord daily and leads her in a godly marriage. We pray to be the best parents we can be for her. We know that without God's grace, guidance, and strength, we are not qualified for the position of parent.

We are so grateful for our Lily Rain. Happy Birthday sweet girl!