5 Years Ago I Fell in Love

Five years ago today my baby sister, Sally, gave life to Zoey Marie. Zoey was the first of three adorable girls of my family and has brought a beautiful richness to all of our lives.

My 'baby's sister Sally with newborn Zoey.

 Little did I know 5 years ago that Zoey would be as much MY daughter as Sally's, or that I could love another person SO much. In the early months of Zoey's life I was blessed to care for her and 'mother' her while Sally was in college. That was as close to being a real Mommy as I would ever get, but I didn't know that at the time. Those precious months with Zoey filled a space in my heart and soul, and gave me the strength to make right-for-me choice to have a hysterectomy at 33 years old as cancer #1's treatment. I have loved that beautiful sweet angel, my Sweet Pea, from the moment I saw her. 

Me and newborn Zoey.

My other sister, Heidi, was a third mommy to Zoey. She's gone on to become Mommy to two of her own beautiful angels- Kallie and JJ. (More on this tomorrow, which is another very special day... )

Nana and Zoey have a special bond, too. Still do and always will. 

Happy 5th Birthday, Sweet Pea!! 

I couldn't love you more, and I'm so proud of the sweet and tender hearted young lady that you are today. I love being hair twins with you right now! 

Zoey and me at the park in Austin, TX about a month ago.

 All the girls in my family are celebrating Zoey's birthday with a special lunch at Chik-fil-a then the little girls will get their first spa treatments. It's sure to be a special, fun, and memorable day. This evening Zoey's family and friends will gather at Nana's to celebrate. An awesome 5th birthday day for my Sweet Pea, and I'm very thankful to alive and healthy to be a part of it. 

Hairy Sprouts

Fight like a Girl!! I'm still doing just that, just in a new way now. My sister, Heidi, gave me this inspirational shirt last year. She's a member of the executive committee for BancorpSouth's Relay for Life team.  Every woman in my family has one, and we all wear it proudly. It's meant a lot to us this past year. I'll share a picture of one of this year's shirts in another post. Stay tuned, it's really really cute!

The front of the Fight Like a Girl shirt. From left to right, my Mom, my sister Sally, my sister Heidi and me. There's a funny glare on one of my front teeth, I assure you that it's NOT a gold tooth. 

My head is sprouting new hair! Yesterday it seemed like there was a little growth happening, but I wasn't really sure until this morning. My hair has started to grow back! Whoohoooo!! This picture doesn't do it justice, but it's not all that visible yet. So far it's coming in dark brown, but don't tell my nieces. They tell me it's purple and then laugh like crazy.