Happy Birthday, Krystle Pie

Happy Birthday to my Krystle Pie! It seems very hard for me to comprehend that you are 27 today! **Warning ... this post is full of pictures!!





I know the quality of these pictures is not good, but I always wanted to just bite her cheeks!

This is her hospital picture. I was in labor 28 1/2 hours. Yes, you read that right. No...I never let her forget it! lol I was so naive...when the doctor handed her to me, I asked this question..."where did she get all of that black hair?" He looked over at her father and then back at me and they both busted out laughing. Her father still tells that joke. He has the most thick black hair on the face of the planet. I thought all babies were born bald! And they actually let me take her home! lol She weighed in at 7 pounds 14 ounces. And she was so beautiful and perfect.

Krystle is blessed to have a great relationship with Jason, as well. She calls him "Daddy" too and he has always treated her as his own.

My daughter was gifted with athleticism. She was the first girl to play on the varsity softball team as a freshman and actually started. She had such great determination and each time she stepped up to the plate to bat my Mama's heart went into my stomach. When I was pulling out these pictures, I got all emotional remembering all the times my sister, Candy and I, traveled all over the State of Florida and cheered this child on and thrilled in her victories and agonized in her defeats. I so miss the time with her.

This is Krystle and her father, Gary. Yea, I don't know where she got the black hair! lol Oh my gosh, it was funny, but let's remember the 28 1/2 hours of labor ok. They were two peas in a pod and it is my most fervent prayer that they find their way back to a great relationship. This picture was taken at her graduation and is one of my favorites of the two of them.

I don't know why this picture tugs at my heart so. Maybe because it is so honest. I don't know who took it, but she is obviously thinking hard on something or something has made her sad and she doesn't know her picture is being taken. It is also one of the few times when she let me braid her hair! She has beautiful hair and I always loved to have my hands in it but she is a 'no frills' girl and certainly just wanted it left alone.

She would be so mad at me posting this picture because she obviously missed the ball .... but, this child was playing sports at such a young age. And she was gifted athletically. She was a junior olympiad in girls softball at the age of 10 and we traveled all over the State with her. However, she was notorious for two things...dropping that shoulder on her swing (which she hated and so did her coaches) and true grit determination (which her coaches loved)...She is the only person on record as having broken a metal bat against a Stuart pitcher in the playoffs in her junior year. The bat company did not believe them and the school had to send it in for proof. Krystle held onto the bat and did not let go and the shockwaves from the bat splittling fractures her arm all the way up in splinters. True story! True grit determination not to be fouled by that pitcher! lol

This is a shot of Krystle playing volleyball. She was also the first freshman to make the volleyball team. She had a great serve!

These are my great grandparents that are no longer with us and Krystle. They loved her and she gave them great joy!

This is Krystle's first Easter with her father and I. We could not keep our eyes off of her and we could not quit smiling. She was our joy! She is still our joy.

My Krystle Pie, I love you. May your day be filled with all things good. Remember that all things good come from the Lord and He loves you so very much. And Daddy and I love you so very much and Jay and Josh love you so very much. Are you getting the theme of being loved very much? I hope so!

Thank you to my friends for getting through this with me and getting to know more about my daughter. Thank you for your prayers for her.

Blessings to you today!