Smile and Be Happy (Birthday Tatum!)

Anyone who knows Tatum knows her motto for years and years and years (well she's barely turning 14 so maybe that's a bit overstated) is Smile and Be Happy!  

It's on a magnet on the fridge.  It's her answering machine message on her cell phone.  It's the name of her blog.  When she dies, I'll have it carved on her grave stone.  (Though that will seem a bit oxy-moronic won't it?) 

So today is not only her birthday, but it's also the 14th anniversary of my initiation into the secret society of women.  It's that private club where the password is epidural.  You can totally tell which women are members of this club by their reaction to the password.  If their eyes glaze over and their smile doesn't slip, you know they're an outsider.   

Since Tatum was my first born I was ignorant of the significance of the password, but after 18 hours of bone crushing labor, I will praise the holy name of epidural forever and ever, amen. 

My mom kept saying silly irritating things to me while I was weeping and wailing and gnashing my teeth.  Things like, "It will all be worth it when it's over!"  After I punched her I realized she was dead right.  And 14 years later it HAS been so worth it.  

We tried for several years to get Tatum into our life.  For this purpose we gave her a name that means One who brings joy to others.   She has lived up to her name in every sense.   Her middle name is my mom's, only in Hawaiian.  (Sheila, or Kila in Hawaiian).  It means Long awaited one!  After all the waiting and all the labor pain she finally arrived on October 19th, 1994, in the White Plains hospital in New York.   It was the most amazing moment of my life up to that point.  I felt her spirit enter the room immediately and Alan turned on the tears.  He held her and kept saying  "She's so beautiful" while I kept saying, "that HURT so bad!"   

But who cares, because now we have TATUM!  She is the most incredible daughter in the world.  She's smart and she's gorgeous and she's a talented artist, writer, scrapbooker, singer, dancer, athlete.  And she's almost as funny as me, but not quite.  She'll get there.  

Best of all she has a super strong testimony of Jesus Christ and she consistently prays, writes in her journal and reads the BOM every night.  I couldn't be prouder.  

Yesterday she made her first goal of the season!  Happy Birthday to her!  But then she collided with someone's head and got a black eye.  

Then she had a crazy wild girl party with all her kooky friends


This morning Alan made her French toast. We always try to indulge her on her birthday by squeezing as many books and French toasts into her brain and body as we can.






Look even her cake says smile and be happy!

Happy Birthday my only girl. Tomorrow I'm going to take a photo walk down memory lane with you.

xox I love you!

Mom