My sweet Amy Lou, you are forever missed! I carry you with me daily with every breath I breathe and hear your voice telling me your life-simplifying advice or encouragement or singing me through dark and hard times. You were always the best at lifting people up, sometimes without them even realizing what you were even up to. I have so many stories of our precious time together that a single novel would not be enough to hold them...we always had a good time together, even when we were overcoming battles and set backs...we were always happy and the smiles were stronger than the pain or tears. Lately, I keep thinking about the phone call asking me, "Guess whose pregnant?" I knew how much you had longed for a baby of your own and so many years had past that you had just accepted that just might not be in your plan. I had always believed and told you that you would one day be a Mother when the time was right, just wait and see, so even though every thing in me wanted to answer "YOU!!!" I found my self thinking ...do not say that, what if it isn't her, it will crush her heart...so I went through a long list of names and you would "Nope! Guess again." or "It is the last person that you would ever expect!"...so finally, I said, "I don't know tell me," but you replied, "Nope, guess!"...so I blurted out "Your Mom (YaYa)?!" for a comedic reaction...and you responded, ..."Have you lost your mind?! That is not funny! You are not funny at all?! What? My Momma?! No, definitely not!" Your rant went on for as long as my guessing list...and the entire time I was praying to hear you say, "Me, I am pregnant!"...so finally, when you took a breath, I laughingly asked, "So you want me to keep guessing or are you going to tell me, Amy Lou?!" And you still trying to wrap your head around the mere thought of YaYa having another child or get the thought out of your head, you responded with,(Ha HA followed by laughter) "No, I DO NOT want you to guess any more! You almost gave me a heart attack with that last guess!" Then you still made me ask, "Well, who is it? Who is pregnant?"...you kept me hanging in silence for a moment,(I was holding back yelling, "It's YOU isn't it! It's YOU, Amy Lou, that is pregnant!") and then finally...(your voice a little shaking as if you were repeating the news for the first time with tears of joy flowing from you) I heard, "Me. Me. Me! ME! I AM PREGNANT! You always told me it would happen when the time was right, and it has! Can you believe that?! I am going to have a baby!!!" The screams of excitement for the next 20 minutes were so powerful they could have probably powered all of the USA (like the power of laughter on Monster, Inc movie)! I could believe it, because I had it in my heart that it was you from the very time I heard, "Guess whose pregnant?"...I just loved you so much and had seen you become so disappointed year after year of not being blessed with your own child that I never again wanted you to feel that pain of heartache that I had seen in your eyes as that was all that you longed for...your dream came true and you were able to be a wonderfully fantastic Momma to your very own gorgeous daughters, Harley and Timber, just like you had been to beautiful Kaleigh (who was yours totally in your heart, regardless of biology, always) when God blessed you with that opportunity to see you through until it was time for you to become pregnant with your very own...it is amazing how perfectly God lays our plans out...being blessed with pregnancy before would have taken away the ability for you to have taken care of Kaleigh as your own...so God took care of your restlessness of longing to be a Mother and blessed you with pregnancy at just the perfect time. God left your footprints on many hearts and blessed you with Harley, Timber, & Kaleigh to carry on the beauty that you placed within each of them...seeing Harley and TImber is like seeing you in the flesh before me..it is Absolutely AMAZING...I know you are smiling and proud...your journey still touches and changes lives every day!!! I would fight the world for you, Amy Lou, and all those you loved, and you would do the same for me...as bad as it still hurts that you are no longer just a phone call away...the blessing of having you in my heart and mind forever as part of my life is so much more tremendous...I am THANKFUL God gave us each other...and you gave me some of the biggest best parts of me that are able to overcome any battle of negativity, heartache, and not believing in my self...by only thinking of the kind loving (some times nose to nose, straight to the point through gritted smiling teeth..;o)) words you have spoken to me in a similar situation or on a bad day...Amy Lou, you gave me the ability to know happiness with a smile cannot be taken away by even the the worst of events...because no one can take away your smile unless you let them...and happiness is within you, no matter how terrible things seem...you showed me how to be strong and faithful in God...and to understand that every day is a battle just waiting to be conquered without fear..what happened yesterday, does not define today. I know you will be there with others awaiting my arrival with open arms, smiles, laughter, and love as I am called home on that glorious morning...And for that, I love you, forever and always, Amy Lou!!!