Sam I Am: Happy 5th Birthday, Rachel!

Five years ago tonight, Brooks and I were finishing packing our bags for the short trek to the hospital, knowing that in the morning, our lives would be changed forever. We were going to be first-time parents. When we were pregnant with Rachel, we didn't know if we were having a boy or girl, so we had names picked out for each gender. A boy would be Austin (after Brooks' grandmother - her maiden name) Allan (my dad's middle name). But, for the life of us, we couldn't come up with a girl name. We had decided on Madeline Moret (my middle name) for a time but then knew that wasn't right. So, one morning during church I was thumbing through the Bible and I pointed to "Rachel" and Brooks said, "hum...it's okay." That same afternoon Brooks went running while I took a nap. After his run, he literally jumped on the bed and woke me up..."If it's a girl her name HAS to be Rachel...I was running and the sun parted between the clouds and I saw a beautiful ray of sunshine...she would be MY ray of sunshine."

I should have known in that moment that she was going to be a girl! :)
So, the 16th of December 2004 came and we were blessed with the most beautiful little girl in all the world. How does half a decade slip away so quickly? Our sweet little lamb is now a beautiful and thriving five year old. She goes to school, rides a bus, teaches her brothers new things, plays dress-up, sings and dances all the time. Rachel is the most amazing blessing and we are SO grateful that God thought us worthy enough to be her parents here on Earth! What an honor!
So, to our little ray of sunshine, Happy 5th birthday, sweetheart! We love you with every fiber of our being. We are proud of you and think you are the most amazing girl ever! We love all your pieces!!! Happy birthday, Punky!!

December 16, 2004! Welcome to the world, Rachel Moret!