Our Second Born

Today, Hannah is 4 years old. She has turned out quite lovely so far, I must say. In the beginning, when I first found out she was on the way, I was really stressed out. Marty and I had a bit of money trouble. In fact, we were very broke. We never went hungry, we always had utilities, but I felt we were nearing the end of the rope.

Because of that, some might say we were foolish not to prevent a pregnancy, but I beg to differ. God used that pregnancy to teach me many things. I cried in my mother-in-law's arms when I couldn't see the doctor because we didn't have insurance. I had to swallow my pride and just cry and trust God. He made a way. I had heard about Jehovah-Jireh -- The Lord our Provider. But it didn't have a critical meaning to me until December of 2000, when God allowed Marty to win some money on a game show. The Lord allowed enough to meet our needs and then some, but not so much that we didn't have to work. He was El-Shaddai -- The God Who is Sufficient for the Needs of His People.

After Hannah was born I rarely slept. She was a fussy baby and I really had to rely on God for my strength. That child continued to push me into further growth by her determined outlook and curiosity. She was a very different kind of baby than our firstborn was. Not easy...but she outgrew the colic and baby trouble after awhile. Then she was all smiles. I have often called her Hannah Joy. She loved to laugh with her big sister--she didn't even need a reason. She would scoot and pull her walker with her sister hitching a ride and they both giggled like crazy! She still loves to laugh.

The second year was tough since Hannah decided to make her own rules and get into everything!

This last year was much better. She has certainly shown signs of growing up and understanding things. She does wear her heart on her sleeve every day. My sweet daughter is getting to be a good helper, too.

I'm looking forward to this year with my smiley girl. She teaches me a lot about myself every day.