My oldest baby is certainly not a baby anymore! Cassidy Lavender is turning 10 years old today, and what an amazing journey this has been. I'm humbled that I've gotten to parent her, and I'm so very, very thankful to her for everything she has given me.
We often focus on everything we give up for our children. It's true that I've dedicated a lot my life to Cassidy, Asher, Brennan, Galen, and Honor. I believe that raising them up is the most important job that I have, outside of serving my Lord and helping Scott in his life — and in reality, I feel pretty firmly that I accomplish both of those things by raising my children.
But the reality is, I feel humbled by the things that my children have given me. I am especially humbled by what Cassidy has given me. I was 19 when she was born — I was stubborn, opinionated, fiercely passionate about mothering, and totally in love with her.
(Lots of pictures after the break 🙂 )
It hasn't been all roses or smooth sailing as she and I have grown together.
Grown together is the key. Cassidy took me from the stubborn young woman I was and made a mother of me (I'm still pretty stubborn, in case you were wondering). She taught me that I could be what and who I wanted to be. She gave me something worth fighting for and something worth living my life for.
She opened my mind to pregnancy health, childbirth, and babies. I have always loved babies, but Cassidy gave me a burning passion. She kindled the flame that became NaturalBirthandBabyCare.com — which has become a career that joyfully fills those precious early morning and late night hours when my babies sleep.
I am forever grateful to Cassidy for continuing to grow and be a ray of light even when I've made mistakes. She's been the one to get all of my growing pains. She's been the one to make me a better mother for the brothers and sister coming after her. She means so much to me.
All of my children help me to grow in their own unique ways, because they are all unique and awesome individuals. But Cassidy opened the way for all of them and continues to do so every day. I only pray that I can be the kind of mother that she deserves, and that she and I will build a relationship that endures, grows, and deepens as she moves from childhood into becoming a young woman more and more every day. She makes me so proud and I pray for the wisdom to continue to guide her as she becomes who she wants to be.
