08-16-2009 Today, our daughter Tricia turns 16. It is so easy to take for granted those people in our lives who are closest to us. But when I look at our oldest daughter, I cannot take her for granted. There were so many things that could have prevented her from even being born. Only a few months before she was conceived, her father survived a full cardiac arrest. I also went into labor with her nearly 2 months early. Doctors were able to stop my contractions with medication so Tricia could continue to be nurtured for the remainder of a mostly normal pregnancy. But the day she was born brought what may have been her greatest obstacle to overcome. Her placenta ruptured before she was born. This is one of the most life threatening occurrences that can happen in child birth. It can kill the mother and the child. Tricia's heart rate dropped dangerously low in the final minutes before her birth. She did not breath immediately. In the moments that followed her birth, there was every reason to believe that she would not live. But she did. She is my miracle, my absolute proof that God is real and loving. He gave this one little girl the spunky spirit that she would need to fight for life from the first moments of her existence and then to survive the challenges of that life she had fought so hard for. She was 5 when she drew and colored a picture of her family and placed it lovingly in her Daddy's coffin. She was 10 when she welcomed her new Dad into her life. She was 11 when she took up a new sport in gymnastics and 13 when she earned a state title in that sport. This kid never stops amazing me. Happy birthday Tricia. Your fighting spirit has a place in this world and I'm so glad that place is with me.