So in my writing world... I've introduced you to all my kids but one... my beautiful, creative, stubborn, strong-willed, oldest daughter, Kalia Brynn. She's my amazing and challenging pre-teen who is so much like her mama that it's often scary... or as my mom would probably tell you... it's payback for the way I was as a pre-teen :) Kalia turns 12 this summer. It's hard to believe that 12 years ago my life changed in ways I could never imagine or even begin to dream possible. I never knew what it meant to love, I mean truly deeply love so bad it hurt, until I had my precious first child. Don't get me wrong... she was a ridiculously tough child. My doctor at the time missed my due date by 8 weeks. I was a "high risk" pregnancy due to my Systemic Lupus diagnosis, and my doctor insisted on inducing labor by 38 weeks if I hadn't already gone into labor on my own. My doctor was also apparently poorly trained. I had 3 level 2 ultrasounds, and a normal ultrasound weekly starting in my 3rd trimester... yet somehow she messed up my due date, by SIX full weeks. She induced me at what she said was 38 weeks, only to have me in labor for 26 hours to deliver a tiny preemie baby... 32 weeks old. Kalia took her first breath and shredded her lungs. The rushed her to the NICU and I didn't even get to hold my precious firstborn in those first moments because they were trying to save her life. I've always said God has big plans for my girl... bigger than I could ever dream. Because that tiny preemie miraculously survived. They scheduled surgery for the following day to go in and repair her lungs which were torn on both sides based on the images they took. It was a long first night. Terrifying actually. My parents were there, crying and praying along side. I remember the next morning the doctor came in, explained the surgery they would do, and said they were going to take final images so they would know exactly where they would need to repair her lungs so she could breathe on her own. He left. Then he came back what seemed like an eternity later, but probably was really only a few minutes. They had taken new images, and the lungs were totally whole! Healed! Not a single tear on either lung! The doctor was baffled. Nothing short of God's hand on my sweet girl. HE had, and has, bigger plans for her. I hold on to that often...
Fast forward a bit :) Kalia is my precious curly haired almost 12 yr old who's been thru incredible pain and joys in life. She was actually born in Raleigh, NC, but shortly after her brother Kai was born, was uprooted to move to Columbus, OH for a few years. In Ohio, she got to welcome her sister Peyton to the crew... and see how life changes with another girl in the house :) She started school in Ohio, and made her friends and LOVED being with her cousins and grandparents there! But life was pretty tough in other ways there in Ohio... so sweet Kalia was uprooted again and moved back to NC. But she rolled with the punches as they say... and transitioned well by making great friends and thankfully being placed in an incredible school that challenged her and helped her grow. (first day of school in NC below!)
For Kalia's sake... I won't go into detail, but I will give Kalia a load of credit where credit is due... she's a fighter. She's an overcomer who is strong and determined and will one day have an incredible story to share. She's watched her brother, Kai, go from being a "normal" brother, to being a brother with incredible "extra special" needs. She's seen pain and felt pain like no child should ever have to bear. The details are not mine to share... But most importantly you must know she's a fighter, and she lights up the room with her smile when she walks in. Deep down inside, she has a heart of gold that would give anything just to have you love her for the incredible woman she is becoming. She's an artist... takes after her Aunt Colleen (my amazing sister) actually, which makes me very proud :) She loves music... and although she can't carry a tune to save her life, she melts my heart when she stands in the kitchen with me as we fix dinner and belts out songs with me or lifts her hands in praise as she worships the God who created and formed her precious inmost being... she makes me giggle if she's walking around listening to my iPod belting out songs completely off key but in her own little precious world :)
She's growing up... way too fast. She just started 7th grade this wk (fellow Northern friends... we do year-round schools down here in the south :) ) and I feel like it was yesterday I was tearfully dropping her off for her first day of Kindergarten. Now she's becoming a beautiful young, independent, woman....
If you are a prayer warrior, prayers for my stunning and stubborn ( lol ) pre-teen would be appreciated. She's walked a tough road, and is in an incredibly tough one right now as she's walking thru her parent's divorce. She knows pain beyond what my words can tell you right now. Yet she still smiles her beautiful smile, tosses her gorgeous curls (with attitude I might add!), and presses on. She's a fighter... a survivor... a beautiful story in the making that one day, God will use in amazing ways :)
