Happy 14th Birthday, Courtney

Courtney was able to come home for a visit for Christmas and her birthday. Steve drove to Houston after work on the 23rd. They arrived home around midnight. Her birthday is on the 22nd. I swear she grows a foot more each time I see her. She towers over me. She is about 3 inches shorter than Steve which makes her about 5'8". She was 18 1/2 inches when she was born and weighed just over 5 lbs. We had a party for her on the 24th...Christmas Eve (day). As I sit here writing this I am reminded of a christmas eve day 14 years ago....the day Courtney came to live with us. The adoption worker called about a week earlier and asked if we would be willing to take in a baby. I said, "Of course!" I didn't even call Steve to ask him what he thought. Kind of an after thought I asked more details...boy or girl, etc. The worker couldn't tell me much because "the baby" hadn't been born yet. The morning of the 23rd I had gone down to the airport in Salt Lake. My brother, Clay, was flying to Arizona for Christmas and had most of the day to wait for his flight. I drove down to spend the day in the airport with him. We would have normally been driving to AZ with my brother. But months earlier, probably around October, I told Steve I didn't want to go to AZ for Christmas. What a shocker! I didn't even have a reason. I just knew I didn't want to go...When I returned home there was a message. "The baby had been born the day before and they needed us to come and get "her." (If we had gone to AZ for Christmas, they would have placed her with another foster family) Because I wasn't home they had found another family for her to go to for the night. That evening and the next morning we spent shopping. I had nothing at home for a baby. Because of the circumstances surrounding her birth she would have nothing when she arrived. It was the best time ever! I don't recall how much we spent but I know it was a lot. The afternoon of the 24th we drove to the house where she had been placed the night before. We were greeted by the other foster parents...funny, Steve worked with the dad! The lady handed her to me and said, "here is your baby girl." Although, the last 14 years have been one of the biggest trials of my life (learning and then dealing with all of her disabilities) I have never doubted that she is our daughter. Heavenly Father sent her to our family where she was sealed to us forever. However, I have often doubted my abilities to care for her...wondering if I was the right mother for her. I am truly grateful for her and all that she has taught and continues to teach us. I know that she is a daughter of God and He has entrusted her precious spirit to our family. We love and miss her.