Happy Birthday Ashton!

Today is my sweet Ashton's 14th Birthday-I can't believe it has been 14 years since God blessed us with our 1st child. I will never forget the wonder and magic of holding her for the 1st time. It was one of the greatest days of my life. Ashton and I were able to stay at home together each day and explore the world. We had so much fun those days-shopping, making pottery, doing crafts and just being together. We spent almost everyday with Jodi and Max. It seems in the blink of an eye she has grown into a beautiful, talented, compassionate young lady. She is so grown up. I so wish I could freeze time right now. I want us to stay in these moments forever. I am so blessed to be her mommy.
In honor of Ashton I am going to list some of the things I love the most about her-there are so many, many more but these are some of the most important:
1. She is my Firstborn-My heart and soul-she taught me to be a mommy-she taught me that you can mess up and your children will still love you-
2. Her beautiful heart-Ashton has a love for others-she wants to help orphans around the world-she has a deep desire to travel to Uganda and be a voice for the children there-
3. Her laugh-when Ashton gets tickled, she has the funniest laugh-once she starts, she can't stop
4. How she helps us at home-she is the 1st one up in the mornings and she helps get everyone going-she will dress Anna Grace, pick out the boys clothes and pack diaper bags.
5. Her love of adoption-Ashton prayed for us to go back to China from the moment we brought Andrew home-she is the best big sister
6. Her amazing voice-Ashton has an amazing voice and I love to hear her sing-
7. Her amazing computer skills-Ashton is so talented-she loves taking pictures and editing them on the computer-she is awesome at this-
8. Her blog-Ashton has kept a wonderful account of our lives during the last 3 years on her blog-she has a gift with writing and designing beautiful posts and I will always treasure this-
9. Her love of family-Ashton loves her family-she is a wonderful daughter and sister-she loves her grandparents and all of our family and friends-
10. Her gift of gab---Ashton is the only person I know that talks as much as me-She loves sharing adoption with others-I believe that God is going to use her in a big way to help others-

I love Ashton with all of my heart and I am so proud to be her mommy-I can't wait to watch her life unfold and see all that God has planned for her-I know it is going to be amazing!