In all living, have much fun and laughter.: Kimberli Nichole... 21! Wow!!!

Where did the last 21 years go? It seems like they have gone by so quickly. I can remember so clearly the day I found out I was expecting Kimi, and now, here she is, all grown up and starting a great adventure of her own. How is it possible that she is 21??? That means she is an adult. Can it really be????

It seems like yesterday when they told us we were having a little girl. I had wondered if I would... it seemed that all of Thayne's cousins only had boys and I didn't dare believe that it would be a girl even after they told us. I remember so clearly the day I was in labor. Oh, I had been in labor for days it seemed, but this particular Sunday I had labored all through church, with everyone watching, counting the minutes between contractions. We finally decided that we would go to the hospital and a sweet nurse took pity on me and made sure they knew I was staying! After starting me on pictocin I only labored 12 more hours so bright and early Monday morning my beautiful, sweet girl was born... on my sister's birthday! Only the moment she was born was anything but worthy of rejoicing... the little girl I had been hoping for... praying for, was born silent, and so blue she looked black. She had the cord wrapped 3 times around her neck and I was sure I had lost her before I ever even had the chance to hold and love her. Several long minutes went by before I finally had the nerve to ask if it had been my little girl. That was when the doctor went to work trying to revive her. After a very long time, what seemed like an eternity to me, I finally heard a small cry. She was later found to have something wrong with her heart... the left side wasn't developed like it was supposed to be... and we spent 4 days of up and down, heart wrenching moments of watching her turn blue, wondering if she was even going to live. I remember the day they told me that they were life flighting her to Primary Children's and then left me alone to make arrangements. Thayne was called at the mine and he and my dad headed in. That was one of those moments when you have to decide if you truly believe everything you have spent your life saying you believe, and digging deep to finding the faith that would sustain you, no matter how the whole thing turns out. I remember holding her tiny hand and crying, and praying to Heavenly Father to please let me raise her, let me watch her grow, let me see her become the beautiful woman I hoped she would be. But then I stopped... I knew that it wasn't up to me. I knew that my will meant nothing... and that is when I wondered if she was meant to be mine here, now... was it right? What was in store for this sweet little girl? What was in store for our family. I knew what "I" wanted, but in that moment, I learned a huge lesson... I wanted what the Lord wanted for our family and while I hoped, prayed that it meant she would live, I told the Lord, "Thy will be done." And then I waited. I felt peace in my heart, absolute peace, even though I had no idea which way it would turn out. And then Thayne and my dad got to the hospital and Thayne gave her a beautiful priesthood blessing promising that she would be made whole and that all of the tests would come back negative. And then the helicopter came and I watched her fly away! We raced to Salt Lake, praying that she would be healthy and well when we got there. My parents had left before us so that they could be there when she got there. When they brought Kimi into the hospital the doctor asked why they had sent a healthy baby to them. They tried to explain away the heart defect by saying that they must have mixed up the x-rays somehow... which of course there was no way. She was the only baby in the hospital that had x-rays taken of their heart... she HAD turned blue, her heart was defective... until that blessing. And somehow some miracle took place and her heart was whole, and healed and we brought our baby girl home on her big brother's first birthday! Healthy, whole and wonderful! And now she is a grown up... a 21 year old woman with wonderful things in her future! A gift to me... a joy to have been able to watch her get to this point, a joy to watch as she begins to move forward with a wonderful, exciting future of her own. I am so grateful for what I have learned by being her mom. I am so grateful that I could see her overcome so much with a positive attitude and to see her find joy in watching others succeed in their own lives. She has the most beautiful, brilliant smile!

Happy Birthday my beautiful Kimi... I hope that this year brings everything you have ever dreamed of and that you find happiness and contentment in everything you do! Love you!!!

Sweet baby girl, so fresh from heaven!