Dearest Jenny, Precious Daughter

Dearest Jenny

Precious daughter

First-born child

Heart of my heart

Delight of my dreams

Ides of March baby

The day you were born
I became a mom

So many precious memories

Sleeping baby, nestled close to my skin

Crying girl, calling for Mom

Daddy's darling

Tiny little miracle
Smiling, cooing, making faces

Rides in the car

Traveling across the country

Hanging with family
Meeting grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles
Baptism, child of God

Growing day by day
Sleeping through the night
First teeth, new foods
Rolling over, sitting up,
Crawling, pulling up
Standing, walking, running

First words
Favorite people
First friends
Favorite toys
New skills
Wonder and excitement

Places to go
Books to read
So much to learn
Playing the days away

Play with me
Little People
Care Bears
Tiny toys, growing girl

New baby
Big sister
New role in life
Gotta share
Love each other

Day care
Preschool
New friends
Kindergarten
Big kid school

New baby brother
Then there were three
Playing with siblings
Mommy's helper

Reading and writing
Math and science too
Dance and gymnastics
T-ball and violin

Grade school gives way
To middle school days
Phone calls and sleepovers
Changing classes and homework

In the blink of an eye

The years flew by

That's my girl crossing the stage

Proud mom with tears in my eyes

Two became one
A beautiful bride
Loving each other
Today and beyond

Surrounded by family

You said your vows

Then away you both went

To create your own future

My baby is grown
And now she's a mom
Sweet little Kyle
Your own little love

Four generations

The family grows

First great-grandchild

Little cutie

Your little man
Your family of three
Balancing it all
Feeling the love

Quick as a flash
Little Kyle's in school
Soccer and friends
Learning new rules

You always find time

For family and friends

Loving wife and mother

Sister, daughter, Aunt Jenny too

You never lose sight
Of where it began
Loving your sweetheart
Happy best friends

So many memories

Love and laughter

Family gatherings

Happy ever afters 

Look at Kyle grow
He's taller than you
Middle school child
Computer wiz too

You're always there

Cheering with pride

As your siblings grow

And move through their lives

All of you grown now
It all started with you
Still you find time
To be a great daughter too

Off to Columbus
New memories await
Finding time to spend
With family again

We love when you visit
We can all hardly wait
To gather together
With you once again

Heart of my heart

My beautiful first

Adventures await you

There's still many firsts

For your family of three

So proud of you always

My daughter and friend

Memories connect us

From beginning to end

Happy Birthday

With all of my love

XOXO

Mom

A Journey of Nine Months

For nine months, you carried me inside

In springtime and the heat of summer

As the leaves of autumn fell

And into early December

Nine months to create a tiny miracle

Nine months of sleepless nights

Nine months of restless days

Nine months of growing new life

Another little one to add to the other four

One more crying baby to be satisfied

One more toddler getting into everything

One more child who knew she needed you

One more teen who thought she didn't

One more daughter to grow up and marry

Every child is unique, every child is special

No woman can ever forget

The nine month journey to motherhood

For nine months, I've carried you in my heart

Nine long months of grieving my loss

Nine grateful months of rejoicing your gain

Nine months of wishing you back

Nine months without your voice

Nine months without your smile

Nine months without your wisdom

Yet every day, I feel your presence

You're with me in the rising of the sun

You're with me as I fall asleep

You're as close as a memory

Yet as far away as eternity

You live on in my words and deeds

You live on in my thoughts and dreams

You live on in my children and grandchildren

You live on in the hearts of those who loved you

And in the hearts of those you loved

Nine months of firsts I didn't want

First day without you

 First week, first month

First phone calls not made

First warm day you weren't on the porch

First flower boxes not in bloom

First leaves falling quietly to the ground

First season of muted holidays 

First blast of winter without you

First Christmas back home 

First KU season without you

A journey of nine months

Toward a lifetime with you in my heart

But out of my sight

My angel up above

Watching over me now

As you watched over me then

Holding me close

As I wake and as I sleep

In the day to day events

And the special moments of life

Always at my side

Giving me strength when I'm weak

Waiting for me to join you

Someday but not yet

I don't know why

I'll never really understand

But God knows and that's enough

Loving you

Missing you

Always

My angel

My Mom

A Sister is a Priceless Gift from God

From the time I was a tiny baby, I was surrounded by love.


Not only the love of my parents, but also of my siblings, grandparents and extended family.


In big families like ours, older siblings often help with younger brothers and sisters.


I was blessed with seven siblings: four older and three younger. In this photo, my sister Kathy is holding little baby me.

What's the value of a sister? Priceless! Don't misunderstand -- I love my brothers, but it's not the same.


Sisters offer an ear to listen, a shoulder to cry on and a hand to hold.


Sisters watch for you to stumble along life's path and help you right yourself.


Sisters whisper to you in the dark and giggle with you from across the room.


Sisters are a girl's first friends, offering lots of advice and encouragement.

Today, my sister Kathy celebrates her birthday and we all celebrate with her. Kathy's story began in Kentucky, our parents' second daughter.

This photograph of Kathy and Mom was taken on the day of Kathy's Baptism, the day her life was dedicated to God by our parents.

Here's our oh-so-young Daddy with his two precious daughters, laughing and loving the life he was living, unaware of how much his little family would grow in the years to come.

And Mom, younger than I remember her, holding her two little girls, perfectly content in the two little blessings God had bestowed upon her, not knowing how many more blessings were in store.

Daddy was in the Army and was gone far away when Kathy was a baby, so she said good night to him differently than most babies do each night.

Army life means moving a lot -- something the older kids in our family did more than the younger kids. Despite all of the moves, Kathy remembers a lot about everywhere we lived.

Mom and Dad loved us all. You can see in this photo that Kathy was the apple of Mom's eye and Daddy's delight. Of course, they loved us all the same!

Along with Mom and Daddy's love, Kathy learned at a young age about God's great love, a lesson our parents taught all of us. It's God's love to which Kathy would devote her adult life.

Kathy was a happy little girl, filled with God's love then and now. That same trademark smile and laugh still give joyful witness to the love of God.

By the time Kathy was in sixth grade, there were six children in our family. Kathy's helping hands were a blessing for Mom, especially when Daddy was overseas.

This photo of Kathy was taken when number seven, our brother Pat, was pretty young. I'm sure the time spent helping care for younger siblings prepared Kathy well for the vocation she chose to serve God -- teaching children.

Kathy stayed in Leavenworth for her senior year of high school, living with a friend's family. Daddy was stationed in Alabama, but Kathy knew she needed to stay behind and graduate from the small Catholic high school she attended. Our youngest sibling was born in Alabama during Kathy's senior year of high school.

God gave Kathy the gifts she needed to be a great teacher. As she teaches her students math, she also teaches them about God's great love for each one of them.

After college, Kathy answered God's call, joining the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth. Although she embraced her new sisters, Kathy remained close to her birth sisters.

On August 12, 1979, with family looking on, Sister Kathy Atkins professed her final vows. For 35 years, Kathy has taught her students with love.

  
Kathy quickly gained the title of Favorite Aunt Kathy as nieces -- and later nephews too -- arrived on the scene. Here Kathy happily posed with four of her five nieces.

Although some of the siblings were scattered around the country, Leavenworth was the gathering place for those who lived nearby. Kathy always loved a good water gun battle!

A favorite aunt's gotta do whatever it takes. Favorite Aunt Kathy was ready to spring into action however and whenever her nieces and nephews wanted to play!

Kathy doesn't miss many of life's important moments with her siblings. The grown-up Atkins siblings posed at Nancy's wedding in 1994.

We joined Kathy and the Sisters of Charity community to celebrate Kathy's anniversary. What a joyous day!

The Kansas core of our siblings: Kathy, Debbie and Pat spent countless hours helping Mom and Dad as they aged.

This is what family looks like to us. All eight of us came home to celebrate Dad's 80th and Mom's 79th birthdays in 2004, bringing most of our families with us.

There's always time to be a little silly. Kathy loves the Kansas City Chiefs and the KU Jayhawks, even when they don't live up to her expectations.

God's love was mirrored by Kathy's love and devotion for Mom and Dad. She's always been just a phone call away when they needed anything.

The younger generation of nieces and nephews know Favorite Aunt Kathy's love for them goes deep, no matter how far away they live.

Favorite Aunt Kathy's kind of a surrogate grandmother to the younger nieces and nephews in the family. She's especially close to the local kids, who she's watched grow up.

What do you get when a favorite aunt becomes a great-aunt? Of course, you get Favorite Great-Aunt Kathy, who's delighted to spend time with the next generation of little ones.

Favorite Aunt Kathy's always ready to laugh and have fun with nephews or nieces -- and greats -- no matter how old they get!

Sister Kathy is faithful to God and cheerfully serves Him through her service to others.

Kathy's patriotism and love of our country were deeply rooted as a child. The feeling of pride Dad felt for Kathy was clear to see, as was Kathy's pride of Daddy.

Kathy's teaching may have been born of Mom's love of learning. Mom always called Kathy "my nun daughter" and was so proud of Kathy.

Our Sister Kathy is a loving daughter and aunt, sister and servant of God. On your birthday and always, I'm so blessed to call you my sister. A sister is a priceless gift and I'm so glad God made us sisters. Happy Happy Birthday, dear Kathy with all my love!!