Once Upon a Time...

Once upon a time there was a man and a woman. They loved each other very much, but began to feel like something was missing. But what? They spent time with their friends, went on a few vacations, finished college, got jobs, moved to lots of houses and enjoyed what they considered their adventurous life.

Still, they couldn't help thinking something was amiss. The husband and wife went to their jobs and came home around the same time every day. They ate dinner, watched Fox News or whatever t.v. shows they enjoyed at the time, and then would get up and do the same thing over again the next day.

The wife noticed one day in early June she didn't feel quite right. Not only that, her shorts were getting tight around the waist. This made her curious. Could it be? Nahhhh...

She asked the husband. He said, "Nahhhh."

Not one to sit on her laurels, and having a mind of her own, the wife did what any young woman in search of answers would do. She went to the local Wal Mart.

She stood, wondering which brand would be best. Was one better than the other? Did it matter if it was generic? Why would you need two? Exactly how does it work, anyway? "Weird," she thought as she stood in the pharmacy, lost in thought at the possibility of how life could be about to forevermore....change.

In their small town, it was not uncommon to run into at least a few people you knew at the local Wal Mart. This was especially true because the wife was married to a man whose family had lived in this town for something like 5 generations, and the wife taught school in town. They were virtually famous! Yeah, right.

God must have known the wife was not in a mood to "run into anyone" because she made it through the check out and to the car without anyone seeing her purchase.

When the wife got home, she decided to mow the lawn. It needed mowing. The husband was no doubt fixing something and the wife wanted the lawn mowed. So, she mowed. She thought her head would explode by the time she was finished, but she did finish. She could not stand to start anything and not finish it. Little did the wife know this would be one of the last projects of her life she would start and finish without interruption. Ironic? Perhaps.

Once inside and cooled off, the wife realized nature was calling. As was the little test that she had thrown under the sink. The wife carefully pulled the test out, read the directions quickly (nature was still calling, only louder)and conducted the test. Without telling a soul what she was doing, she just set the test on the counter, sat herself on the seat of the toilet, resting her chin in the palms of her hands and her elbows on her knees...

And waited.

For three minutes.

Three minutes that would change her life forever.

Three minutes that would produce the two most beautiful, vividly hot pink lines she had ever seen. Unbelievable, she thought. Unbelievable that here in this moment, only me and God know this to be true! She sat back on the toilet and marveled, on purpose. She enjoyed the few minutes she had alone with the Lord and her secret miracle. Wow. She wanted to freeze time.

To this day, the woman has never forgotten the look on the husband's face when she told him...

"I'm pregnant!"

They could not know at the time how utterly happy the little bundle of miraculous wonder inside this mama (she was a mama!) would make them.

The day she was born, February 24, 2001, was without doubt, one of the happiest days of their lives. Allison Jean Wiggins, all 7 pounds and 2 ounces, with her head full of hair, had made her grand arrival. She had made the man a daddy, and the woman a mama. Could two words ever sound sweeter to them than mama and daddy?

This little girl continues to grow and grow. As a matter of fact, she now stands not too much shorter than the mama. How can this be, the parents wonder? Where has the time gone? What happened these last ten years?

Once upon a time, a mama realized time goes by way to quickly. For the mama realized that in the same amount of time it took this baby girl to turn ten, she would turn twenty. And this made the mama, and the daddy, so very sad.

Until they remembered to be thankful.

Thankful for all this time. Thankful for the things to come. Thankful for health. Thankful for smiles. Thankful for songs. Thankful for baby curls. Thankful for her sweet spirit. Thankful for how much she loves her family. Thankful for her wit. Thankful for her love for Jesus. Thankful for her love pats. Thankful for hugs and kisses. Thankful for her tender heart. Thankful she still calls them "mommy" and "daddy." Thankful she isn't a teenager in a ten-year-old's body. Thankful she does still enjoy American Girl dolls. Thankful she is silly. Thankful she is who she is.

Thankful. So thankful for February 24, 2001 at 7:13 a.m. So very thankful for our Allison Jean.





Happy 10th Birthday, Baby.