It almost doesn't seem possible to me that my little girl is entering young womens and growing up so fast! 12 years ago Hillary joined our family. Chari waited a little too long to agree to go to the hospital because we had already been once a week before on a false alarm. When we got to the hospital, Chari was almost ready to deliver. At 12:57pm Hillary arrived and our lives have been blessed ever since. Hillary has been amazing to me her whole life. She has taken in stride all the crazy changes we have put her through. In 12 short years, she is now in her 5th house and has lived out of the state twice. I remember a time when she was two years old how I thought I had so much time before she grew up...so many years to go. Here are a few of my favorite memories of Hillary:
1. 1st year at Grandma's - We stayed with my parents for almost a year after Hillary was almost one years old until we got into our first house. Hillary used to crawl through the doggie doors in my parents basement. Then she started dragging things with her and putting them through the doggie doors as well. She also had the funniest Giggle every time I would making a slurping sound with my popsicle. I adored Hillary as a toddler...every thing was so new to me and I never imagined in all my life I could love a little child so much.
2. Monkey??? - When Hillary was young, I took some video of her while I tried to teach her the difference between a monkey and a cow. We had a little monkey that would make a "Ooo Ooo Ooo Aaa Aaa" sound when you squeezed him. We also had a small cow that would mooo when you squeezed him. I would squeeze the monkey and ask Hillary "what is this?" She would say "monkey?" and I would say good. Then I would say "what is this?" and I would squeeze the cow and we would listen to the moo. She would pause for a minute, think about it briefly, and then say "monkey!". I would say no, this is a cow, and we would listen to the mooo. She would say "cow" and I would say "yes, that's right, this is a cow". She would even say "mooo". So then I would say "what is this?" and I would squeeze the monkey. She would listen and say "monkey?" and I would say good. What is this and I would squeeze cow. She would again listen and say "monkey?". We repeated this process several times until I was sure she had it, only to once again hear her say "MONKEY?" If anyone had ever told me when I was a few years younger that I would experience so much pure joy one day sitting around squeezing stuffed animals, I would have called them crazy....but in that moment, I felt so much joy I have never forgotten how much joy she brought me and I remember that experience often.
3. Move to Iowa - we spent 3 days trekking across the country to get to Des Moines when Hillary was 2.5 years old. She rode with me. She watched barbie movies, disney movies, etc., for 3 days straight. We almost turned back in Cheyenne because I about melted when she asked me in the hotel the first night when we were going home. My heart melted at her sad little face as we explained we were on our way to new home. Throughout the drive she kept asking where we were going and I would tell her we were going to Iowa. It would be our new home. So then she started asking at each stop and each gas fill up if we had made it to Iowa. I would tell her no. When we finally made it to Iowa, we spent the first night in the motel and got up the next morning to start looking at apartments/houses. We stopped at a Walgreens to buy a map. Hillary asked me when we were going to get to Iowa....now starting her 4th straight day in a car. We told her that we had made it! This was Iowa! So we drove to Ankeny to look for places to stay. When we drove back to our motel for the night, we passed the Walgreen's and Hillary says "look Dad, its Iowa!" Amazing to me that you drive 1,000 miles across the country only to find your destination is a Walgreens! Everytime we would pass that for the next few days she would call out "there's Iowa".
4. One of my favorite memories from Iowa was watching Hillary with her friend who lived next door...Thomas. Hillary didn't have many little girls to play with by us but she and Thomas would play often. He would come knock on our sliding glass door during our dinner and ask if she could play. We would tell him after dinner and he would faithfully wait outside on our deck steps while she finished eating. They were so fun together. It was fun to watch her try to mix her girlie world with his little boy world. One day she put out her leg and showed him her shoes. She said to him "Thomas, don't you think my shoes look pretty?" He looked up with all the confusion of a 4 year old boy trying to understand the importance of ladies fashion and said "HUH????" I was reading his mind...who cares if shoes are pretty! Hillary had a barbie jeep and Thomas got a Silverado truck. They used to drive all over our yards together. One day, Thomas wanted to drive the jeep. Hillary sat in the passenger seat and talked on the barbie jeep phone while Thomas drove her pink barbie Jeep wherever she wanted to go. I had this little flash forward in my mind at that point...thinking of her with a young man, telling him where to drive her while she jabbers away on the cell phone. They were such good friends and it made me sad for her (and him) when we left them.
4) Baptism - I remember looking at my daughter, all dressed in white, wondering how she had grown so fast. She has always been such a good girl. Always tries to follow the gospel and be a friend. I was amazed again that day how proud I was of her and all her accomplishments. She was/is as pure as the white she adorned that day and I was proud and honored to be able to baptize and confirm her.
5) Moving again - my heart ached for all of my children as I had to prepare them to move from Lehi and the many friends they had grown to love in order to move 2,000 miles to Tennessee. It was a lot for Carter and Whitney to understand because the were still a little young to understand why lost jobs and money and all the other things they can't comprehend mean they can no longer be with friends in their comfort zone. Hillary was amazing through it all. She kept a great attitude. She didn't want to leave friends, but she always spoke with understanding and set a great example to her siblings. I remember the day she said to me"Dad, if we have to move to Tennessee, it will be ok." Just those words, her smile, and her faith did wonders for me as a father who felt guilty once again for moving his family. All through out our time in Tennessee, she stood firm in her beliefs and example. She was not afraid to speak about the church. She even corrected her teacher on some points of the church as they learned about it in school.
There are many other memories I will always cherish. Hillary has been my pride and joy since the first day I held her. Each day she makes me want to be a better father and person. Throughout all the travels and changes, she keeps a good attitude and doesn't complain. I can't think of a better gift she could give to me as a father trying to struggle through tough times trying to support the family. She impresses me with her daily scripture study and prayers...something I struggled with at her age. She does it on her own and I'm so honored and happy God chose me to be her earthly father.
So, on her 12th birthday, I wish her a very happy birthday and I hope the year to come is full of much happiness. She deserves it! Love you Hillary! Dad
No comments:
Post a Comment