One Month

It's been a long while since I dusted off this old blog to write anything worth reading, but the birth of my daughter compels me to start again.  She's been with us for a month now and I just love her to pieces.  Of course, the fact that she's been here for an entire month and I haven't even managed to write down the story of the day she was born is simply embarrassing (and perhaps a foreseeable complication of being the third-born child), but baby girl, don't ever mistake my tardiness for a lack of dedication to you.

Holland Elizabeth, you light up my life.  You are named after a tiny town in Texas where my grandfather lives among the tall pecan and oak trees.  It's a beautiful patch of land where we lived once upon a time when our house in Temple sold too early.  Grampy is a great man who loves God and Country, but especially that little farm in Holland, Texas.  Saying your name reminds me of all of those beautiful things--my family, those trees, that great man.  Your middle name is from your daddy's side of the family, going back many generations, but the Elizabeth I know the best is "Beth," your paternal great grandmother.  She and your daddy have always been close--I call them soul mates.  And perhaps it's no surprise that she loves him so much because he's her first grandchild, but to her credit, when I came into the family she immediately loved me purely, earnestly, and as her own.  I know she does the same for you, and will continue to, no matter what. 

After an entire month, in some ways it still feels like you're brand new, and in another way it feels old--like we always knew you were meant to be here.  You fit right in with this family and certainly make it a lot prettier!  So happy 9th to you, sweetheart.  A single flower for your picture today, a magnolia.  We'll add another one each month to make a bouquet of your first year.