I see a laughing child

So I wanted to talk about this amazing woman in my life, my Aunt Carrie. Not until recently did I really bond with her. Not that anything was wrong with our relationship before, but something changed when I became a mother. She was one of the first people in my extended family to come over and meet Jesse. I will never forget what she said to me that day. She told me God gave us Jesse because he knew we could handle it. She went on a little about how Paul and I as older parents could handle Jesse having a cleft, that younger parents would probably have a really hard time. I am not as religious as her, but I have the utmost respect for her and her beliefs. She's probably right, I do believe that everything happens for a reason and we were given Jesse for a reason.... the gift


So here's the scoop on Aunt Carrie. She's the youngest of 7 kids, my Dad's baby sister. My Dad has her beat by 15 years. She's only 13 years older than me. My Dad's younger siblings are almost like older siblings to me. My Grandmother (her Mother) passed away when she was only 15 or 16. I was Aunt Carrie's flower girl in her wedding. She married young, maybe 20 years old? She's married to a Downers Grove cop and she's a Florist at heart, not currently a Florist for a living, I am sure she wishes she was. She did all the flower arrangements for almost every family wedding and major function including my wedding reception, aside from being gifted in other ways, she's a very gifted Florist. She had twin boys when she was 24. Kyle and Jacob, also 2 very amazing people, I must say. 5 years later she had a baby girl, Hallie, who is growing up to be another amazing person in this family.


I call her SuperMom. She must have been born with this gift or something. I don't know. Since I became a mother (and even a few times before Jesse was born) and I feel like I can ask her anything and talk to her for hours. She gives me her advise and opinions but lets me make my own decisions. My sister is on her way to becoming a SuperMom too....


She has babysat for us a few times. She loves having a baby to take care of. She came over yesterday to give Paul a break. The two of them ended up talking half the afternoon and she stayed another hour and a half after I got home too. She's just so easy to talk to.


So today I send a picture out to a few friends and family. Jesse was laughing last night and I snapped a picture where you can see his cleft palate. I said in the email that this is what a cleft soft palate looks like.





Her reply, "Funny, I see a laughing child. Thanks for letting me be with Jesse yesterday, it was fun."


THAT is what makes her special and I love her for that.