Happy 8th Birthday Kiwi Hannah!!

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Big Sister Day was today! I cried a lot of tears, starting with the first message I got from my dear friend Ashley and ending with the last message I got from my best friend forever Val and everyone in between (special shout-out to Bethy, who started the tears early yesterday)!

During dinner, I cried about her orchid needing to be replanted, and our sweet Kobi placed her hand on my shoulder and said, “express it,” William got me a tissue and listened to what I was asking, so I just cried until I was satisfied!

There was no countdown leading up to this day, and there was no visible rainbow seen today (my physical sign that she’s near), but the love was plentiful and tangible, and that’s all a grieving mama could ever ask for!

So, for those that wished Kiwi a happy birthday, that acknowledged today being Big Sister Day, that sent texts, messages, and comments and likes on our posts and stories: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for remembering my first baby girl today!!

The day wasn’t a complete wash; we ate good food, painted ceramics, ate popcorn, had Starbucks, I went to see The Woman King, we sang happy birthday, and had cupcakes way past bedtime! We celebrated today, and everything wasn’t perfect, but it was perfect for us!! Happy 8th Birthday, Kiwi Hannah; mommy, daddy, and sissy love you!!

Healing Has Taken Place: Happy 7th Birthday Kiwi Hannah

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Today was a mellow day full of simple joys. We slept in, got our nails done, had dinner and several cheesecakes! We looked through Kiwi’s book and talked. This year, we saw her all month long in different ways at different times and we’d say hi and smile! So it felt like a month long celebration this year!

I miss that little girl so much every day, but this year it didn’t break me, and for that, I am grateful! Happy 7th Birthday, my dear Kiwi Hannah! Mommy, Daddy, and Sissy love you!

Happy 12 Year Anniversary

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Today is our anniversary!! We have been married for 12 years. It seems like we were such babies when we were first married.

We’ve been through so much, and I am thankful that we’ve stuck together through it all. I love you, William, and I love being married to you!

Thank you for your continued love and belief in me. I look forward to growing older with you each year, and I look forward to continuing to learn about you as time goes on. Thank you for being my knight in shining armor all those years ago, and thank you for being the perfect husband just for me!

~Love Terri

We celebrated all weekend and it was perfect!

Happy 5th Birthday, Kobi

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My love, you are our greatest treasure and our miracle, answer to prayer! Thank you for showing us every day how to love each other, how to communicate better, and how to serve each other well.

My Dearest Kobi! We love you and are so grateful for you! Happy Birthday! We made and decorated your cake, we went to breakfast, had lots of phone calls, pizza for dinner, ate the cake, opened up presents and enjoyed our books, unicorn decor, and balloons!

You are such a ball of energy and joy I can’t fully comprehend how I’m supposed to steward all of your talent, treasure, and power in such a short amount of time, but I promise to keep trying every day to love you well and to open the door for you to walk through and follow your dreams!

Happy Happy Birthday, may this be the year you find your joy and passions, and may you know the Lord for yourself in a more profound way! Keep growing and Keep shining!

Love Mom!!

To my daughter on her last day as a four year old…

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My love, today has been a doozy!! We walked with Ms. Renee this morning before school, where we had to talk about safety because there were rando kids all over the place… but once we got home and in our routine, you worked so hard and stayed focus and aced a few quizzes and turned in a lot of your science work.

We watched a presentation on the life of Fredrick Douglas for Black History Month. Then you played on your iPad for a while until we began making your cake… that’s what you wanted for your birthday, to make your birthday cake from scratch: a vanilla cake with chocolate frosting so that’s what we did… but that’s not why I’m writing you…

You baking your cake!

I’m writing this because it’s what I do… I always try and take a moment to remember who you were as it will be the last time you will ever be four!! I don’t know why the last time always makes me so somber, but it does.

So as a four-year-old… you lost your first tooth, started Kindergarten, and have been wishing you were already an adult so you can make more decisions (mainly around screen time). You are also OBSESSED with Minecraft.

You still love unicorns, and you even let us snuggle you, and tonight you let me hold you like a baby while we did affirmations.

I’m so proud of your brilliance and love for all things people, science, Jesus, and your family! You make me so happy, you are my greatest treasure, and I love being your mom!

Your last four year old picture with me!

As each year goes by, I promise to try and let you grow up a little more, and I will always do my best to prepare you for this great big world that you are already making your mark on!

Here is to five… it’s coming in hot, I’m not ready, but I know you’re gonna have a blast, so remember always to be kind, shine your light wherever you go, and don’t ever hide your brilliance!

Love Mom!