Zoe

I have a daughter, and I feel the need to brag about her. Well maybe not brag... maybe just tell you about her and what she is like. Right now, she is staring at me through her crib rails with her big brown eyes hoping that I will rescue her from nap time. She knows I'm a softy.

Zoe Abigail Briggs was born on Friday, October 14th at 1:24am. We had prayed for the Lord to show  us what to name her. Zoe means "life", and Abigail means "her father's joy". Just in her short 9 months here with us, she has definitely lived up to these definitions.

I look at her and see a child who loves being alive. She loves people. She loves being awake and hates going to sleep (most of the time). She plays hard! She wakes up going 100mph and gives 110% towards everything she does ALL day long. She is passionate and silly, and sometimes very intense. She is stubborn... Just like her Daddy :) (Because I am never like that.) She is this petite little thing who stood up before she crawled. Then she started walking at 8 1/2 months old. We decided that we would never underestimate her. She is incredibly smart. Too smart sometimes. She got a hold of my cell phone the other day and held it up to her ear. What??!! She's only 9 months old! She also pushes her Bumbo up to the couch so she can stand on it and try to climb up on the couch. She loves watching Veggie Tales. She loves being outside. She loves going in the pool. As of now, she has 8 adorable little teeth. And by the "drool" of things, she is working on some more. She has the cutest laugh I have ever heard. And when she cries, she does that lower pouty lip trembling thing. Oh goodness... breaks my heart every time. She is also incredibly kind. Story time...

Almost 2 months ago, I was trying to deal with some difficult news. I was holding Zoe and on the phone with Lee... I was crying. She watched me with a furrowed brow and a very concerned look. She knew something was wrong. She knew that I was sad. So she tried to comfort me. She wrapped her little arms around me and started giving me kisses. And then she would lay her head on my shoulder, and then give me more kisses. Yes, I cried even more. I was blown away by her intuition and tender heart. Amazing that my 7 month old was ministering to me.

What else.....

She's strong. She LOVES her Daddy. She is so intrigued by everything. She can be a little high maintenance sometimes, and is kind of a picky eater right now. She has beautiful olive skin and my dad's deep brown eyes. Kind, gentle, yet full of life. And as my sister-in-law put it, "she has his smiling eyes." I'm so glad she does. Oh, and she has this positively wonderful smell. It's not the baby smell anymore, but her own sweet, soft-skinned, Zoe smell. She probably wonders why I am constantly smelling her.

She keeps me on my toes all day every day, and I wouldn't have it any other way. She is so much more than I could have ever hoped for in my child. The joy she brings into our lives is inexpressible. And the love I have for her...  Well, let's just say that I knew two things right away after she was born: 1) I would gladly lay down my life for her. 2) I would kill anyone who ever tried to do her harm. It's a fierce love.

I hope all of you get to meet her some day, because she is totally awesome.


"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;"
Psalm 127:3-5

"For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well."
Pslam 139:13-14