24 Years Ago, in Korea, There Came a Baby Girl

     24 years ago I was in labor. Hard labor. Foreign labor. No one except my doctor spoke English and when the nurses tried, it was, "No short pushy! Long pushy!" That is a subject for another time. But at the end of this labor, I gave birth to one of the most extraordinary people I have ever met - my daughter Elizabeth.  It is extraordinary to have a child, anyway. But Elizabeth is fascinating.

     Elizabeth is exuberant about life. She always has been. She has never done anything by halves. Elizabeth knows to LOOK for the adventure in life. She creates the adventure. She is one of those people who HAS to have something to look forward to and if there isn't anything in particular, she starts looking around and makes a plan. She chooses to have fun in the smallest details of her life as well as the big ones.

     LB (for short) loves to learn. Her mind is constantly busy and seeking new ideas, new knowledge, new skills. She loves to research whatever she finds interest in. One of the early research projects took place when we first moved back to the US from Germany. She began listening to the "oldies" and fell in love with the Beatles. She can probably tell you every trivia item about the Beatles. When George Harrison died, her heart was broken.
     Far from learning trivia about the Beatles now, she finds subjects and says, "I just want to know about..." and off she goes. Always learning.  (I think that is from the Thimell side of the family)

     LB is loyal to the core. The depth of her commitment is quite compelling and no one is her true friend who has not had that loyalty directed toward them. She is THE friend to have. Thankfully, she chooses her friends in a careful and wise manner.

     LB is a worsdmith. Read her blog (http://loveisadventure.blogspot.com/) and you will know what I mean. Her words flow with humor, depth, pathos, thoughtfulness, creativity.  This is one of the things that I admire most about her. I guess we knew this would happen, though. When she was two I walked into her room and found her surrounded by dolls and stuffed animals. I asked her what she was doing and she said, "I am just getting my babies situated." When she was five, she asked, "Mama, how do I ask Jesus into my heart without using a lot of complicated words?" When she was three, after having read all of the LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE books out loud to her, I heard her "reading" to her babies. "Pa went out and shot a deer and came home and Ma cooked it in the microwave."  She loved listening to her daddy read the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy when she was five and only later did she tell us which parts really freaked her out.
     LB addresses her fears. She says she does things because she has either never done them before or is scared to do them and so does it to get over the fear. This inspires me to do the same.

     LB is beautiful. But then lots of us have beautiful daughters. I used to ask her, "Is it more important to be pretty on the outside or pretty on the inside?"  She knew the right answer but the fact is that she is just as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside.
     LB is not afraid to dance with her mama in the kitchen. That is how I KNOW she is extraordinary.
     Committed, tenacious, persevering, willing to learn, willing to humble herself, gracious, hospitable, loyal, a good cook (which she had to teach herself seeing as how she IS my daughter), a creative and artistic decorator, talented, musical, intelligent, thoughtful of others, a lover of Jesus, a superb wife and MY DAUGHTER. I could go on and on shamelessly.

     Elizabeth inspires me to be better. I think that is what she does for everyone who comes around her. I am so thankful to the Lord for giving me the privilege of being Mama to this one very extraordinary person and it all began 24 years ago at a hospital in Seoul, Korea.