My, How the Time Flies!

Tonight we went to our niece Rylee Jean's first soccer game. It was a lot of fun! It was so neat to see her run around and kick the soccer ball and make the first goal! As I was watching her play I got a little misty eyed. I have watched this little girl grow up literally from infant to little girl.
I can remember that night in June when my brother and his girlfriend came to the door with a look of panic on their faces. I remember when we read that the test was positive, when we all cried, and then had to decide what their next move would be. I remember moving into a house next to my brother and watching Nikki grow and grow. I remember the phone calls from Nicole when she would ask if I wanted to go to Wal-Mart with her late at night because she had a craving for Sour Patch kids. Then I remember the phone call on a Saturday morning in January telling me that our little girl was about to make her grand entrance into this world. I remember holding her for the first time, and looking into her precious face and knowing that our world had changed forever for the better! I remember her being home the first few days and having to take care of her by myself for the first time when she was only a few days old. I remember watching her begin to crawl, pull up and then eventually walk. I also remember the first time that she said "mimi". She has called me Mimi since the very beginning and it means so much to me that she has a name that is specifically for me. There are so many moments in her short little life that I remember, she has been my world since the day she was born. Now that she is growing up and she is getting older, it is so hard to let her grow up. I wish she could stay little forever. I hate that she has to grow up, that she has to go through heartache, heartbreaks, hurt feelings, and so many other things that we all have had to go through in our lives. I wish that we all could protect her from the bullies on the playground and the bullies in life. But we can't, we can only be there for her when the heartache and heartbreaks happen, we can be there to encourage her every step of the way. She is an amazing girl, and she is going to make and even more amazing woman!!! So, for right now I am going to enjoy every soccer game, and I hope that she knows that her Mimi is her biggest fan, not only her biggest fan for soccer but the biggest fan of her life!!!!