Happy Birthday, Erin!

Let me begin with a little disclaimer. This post should have pictures, but my pictures are being held hostage by my sick computer and I can't attach any, which is a huge bummer!

31 years ago, on Tuesday, Erin Elizabeth Garrard joined our little family. She joined her ancient, 13 month old sister, Sarah, and her mom and dad, in our little house in Burley, Id.

Because I had been pregnant 18 months out of the 24 months we had been married, my doctor, who was also a family friend, offered to induce me and I jumped at the chance to not be pregnant. She was due on the 9th, but we got her on the 4th. She gave us a little scare on the way, as she was posterior for while and there was a little distress and there was a little time that a caesarean section was being considered. But, she turned and everything went well and she came with no problems. She was my smallest baby, but then, everyone else was late or on time.

From the beginning, Erin was different than Sarah. I loved to hold my baby and cuddle. Erin did NOT want to cuddle. She had thick, dark and what would later turn out to be curly, hair. Sarah's hair, like mine, is stick straight.

As Erin and Sarah grew, she had a built in best friend in Sarah and they spent countless hours playing all the things little girls play. School. House. Beauty Shop. They put on plays and shows for us. They made BIG messes. They were inseparable.

We nearly lost Erin when she was 5 years old. She & Sarah were in swim lessons at the Burley city pool. Kids had to be 5 years old to take lessons and Erin had turned 5 the week before. She was doing well in her lessons when one day, a terrible accident happened. Without going into all the details, the instructor found her floating face down, unconscious, in the deep end of the pool. I was there and spent a very surreal, almost out of body 10 or 15 minutes until she got to the hospital. Poor Howard was at home with Nathan, who was asleep, and I had our only car. A friend I was with drove the car home so he could get to the hospital and I rode with Erin in the ambulance. A true miracle occured as she was not responding and the doctors were telling us that she needed to be transferred to a larger hospital in a neighboring town. A ward member, came to the hospital to see if he could be of any assistance, as he had heard about the accident when he was in a store, selling radio advertising. The clerk at the store was also a member of our ward and her husband was a deputy for the sherrif department and had just heard about the accident from her husband. Dusty Anderson came to the hospital just in time to help Howard administer to Erin and she almost immediately made a turn around and did not need to be transported. She was kept overnight for observation, but by late afternoon, she was a permanant attachment at the nurses station. She recovered with no brain injury whatsoever and is a living testimony of the power of the Priesthood.

Erin has brought us so much joy. She is a very tender hearted person, as anyone who knows her can attest. She has a VERY strong spirit. That strength of spirit expressed itself often during her teenaged years. There were times I just KNEW that when Erin turned 18, she would leave home and I'd never see her or talk to her again. There were times I really wondered if our relationship would survive. But, I'm happy to say that it did and is thriving today :)

Erin is really smart and she loves music, especially the piano. She started taking piano lessons when she was about 9 or 10 years old and took for several years. Her piano playing has brought many hours of joy to me and others, I'm sure. Seeing her play makes me very happy.

When Erin was 12 years old, she was diagnosed with scoliosis. For a while, she wore a Milwaukee brace, which, for her was torture. She had to sleep in it, and could only be out of it for 1 hour each day. She wore that brace for over a year, until she outgrew it and then got another type of brace. Right before she was 14, at a routine visit, we were dismayed and shocked to learn that her curvature had increased to the point that surgery was required to correct it. She was in the hospital for 9 days and endured pain that no parent ever wants to have to see their child endure. She has subsequent issues from the scoliosis that still cause her neck and shoulder pain, but she seldom complains. She just deals with it. Pregnancy is particularly difficult as the baby grows. Brooklyn will never know what her mom endured before she got here! Erin has a strength that I marvel at. She sure didn't get it from me. I am pretty sure she inherited her grandmother Garrard's pioneer stock strength and I'm grateful for it.

Erin is a wonderful mother, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, friend. She makes friends easily, as people relate to her soft voice and tender heart and spirit. She has a great sense of humor and is very quick to offer service to others she sees in need, never expecting anything in return. She has matured into a capable, smart, wise woman and shares her gifts with others. She does not like a lot of hoopla made about her, but I am hoopla-ing for her tonight because she deserves it. She is amazing in so many ways.

I can't imagine my life without her and pray I never have to.

Happy Birthday, Erin.