Happy Birthday Rachel!

My oldest "baby" turns 23 today! Unlike her sister who arrived three weeks early, Rachel arrived nearly three weeks late and I was HUGE! Seriously, I was big enough to qualify for my own zip code! She was such a pretty baby with milky white skin, little tufts of hair, not quite red and not quite blonde and the most beautiful steel blue eyes. Of course everyone kept  telling me, they'll turn, babies are always born with blue eyes but Rachel's never did and they are still the prettiest shade of blue.

By the time her first Birthday rolled around, Rachel was already forming two word sentences. "Oh look" she exclaimed as she opened each gift. 

She was always inquisitive and always wanted to explore her surroundings. And she was fearless! She would give me fits every time we went shopping or to a park. I would turn my back for a second and she would be gone. I was always hysterical by the time I found her and she would be completely oblivious to the fact that her mother had been frantically searching for her. She would come running up to me, recounting all the wonderful things she had seen on her little "solo excursion"! How apropos that Rachel's favorite saying is "Not all who wander are lost" J.R,R. Tolkien

Once Rachel entered school, it was obvious she was going to excel at Math and Science. When most kids would rather suffer through a horrible case of Chicken Pox than construct a Science Fair project, Rachel relished the idea. As smart as we all knew she was, there was a time in her young life when we thought she would never read. When we finally got the diagnosis that Rachel was severely dyslexic we were determined  this would never stop her from accomplishing what she wanted to do. 

She has overcome so many obstacles and today, she reads more than anyone I know. Rachel has grown into a sweet, kind young woman with an unwavering Faith, a wonderful imagination and an unquenchable thirst to learn. She aspires to get her Masters and do genetic research on plants. We often kid that she will probably discover the cure for some rare disease some day. 

 Happy Birthday my sweet girl! 

We love you and miss you so much!