My Oldest Daughter

I've been wanting to do these blogs for a long time but want to do them right so it may take revisions to get some old pictures on. I want to journal/blog about my kids.

Risa was born shortly before my 21st birthday so I was a young mother. I wasn't nervous about being a Mom. I had watched my Mom do it for 20 years. I loved being a Mom. Risa was such a sweet baby and it was so fun to watch her. She was so smart and did the cutest things. When I was pregnant with Braden and she was 3 1/2 she would pretend to take her vitamins and run to the bathroom and spit and cough in the toilet. I asked her what she was doing and she answered she was playing "pregment". When Braden was born she wanted to take over. She helped so much and loved him so much. She always did well in school and was very strong willed. She was 5 when Laynie was born and really started asserting her will. I asked her teachers if they were having problem and they reported that she was obedient and charming. She was pushing my buttons.

Risa always liked cooking and crafts. At 11 years she was learning to fix dinner. She liked learning to make new things. When she started playing the clarinet she did so well and it began our fun life of band concerts, practices and band friends. We moved twice while she was in Junior High. She did so well making new friends and got a great group of friends when we moved into our house here. Her high school years were full of friends, concerts, plays and emotions.

I cried at her graduation because I wasn't ready for this time of our lives to end. She had a good time in college and I was so proud of her for her strong desire to get a degree. When it got stressful and I suggested she drop a class and push her graduation out one semester she informed me in tears "That is not an option". I cried at her college graduation because I was so proud of her for sticking with it. I have been proud of her desire to do what is right and that even when no one was there to tell her what to do she did it on her own.

Risa, I love you!