The Thirteenth Year

The Night You Were Born

On the night you were born
The moon looked down
Like diamonds on a blanket of deep velvet blue.
The stars were singing an ode to joy
And the snow crunched like clanging bells.

On the night you were born
The hands of angels
Lifted you apart from me
And you cried, “Welcome me world! I am HERE!”
And tears of thanks rolled down our cheeks
As God Himself delivered you safely to our waiting arms.

© 1998 Patricia Day

The day has come! Who would have ever thought that this little bundle, perfect in every way:

Would one day, just a mere 13 years later, become this:

A beautiful, smart, funny young woman that I am so proud to call my daughter. I love you, Diana!

But today is not just about being all mushy and sentimental. (The Birthday Princess respectfully requests that I can the mush, like NOW!) It is a day of celebrations. Actually, it is the culmination of several days of celebrations. And I’d like to share with you some moments that helped us mark the occasion.

We had our first celebration at home on Wednesday. My mom and Tony are on a fabulous cruise that started today, so we had a lovely little birthday dinner with them. Of course there was cake:

Then last night we had dinner at Diana’s favorite restaurant–Olive Garden. Grandma and Grandpa were able to join us and there was much good food, many presents, and lots of fun. Oh, and singing:

Then today we went with her friends to a horse farm, where we held a horse mini camp. There was education, and riding lessons for everyone! Some of the girls had never been on a horse before and had a little bit of trepidation. But, in the end, everyone did great! The weather had warmed into the 70s, which was nothing short of a miracle, considering the snowstorm we had last weekend. And the riding instructor was totally awesome. I overheard several of the girls asking their parents for riding lessons or the chance to come back to the farm for summer camp. Yay! I am so glad this all worked out.

So, it has been a fun-filled few days around here. Although, if you ask me, I’m still not old enough to be the mother of a teenager. I’m not sure how this happened so fast.

Happy Birthday, Diana. I love you.

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