Watching the clock...

I am so excited I cannot stand it. In 24 hours, we will hit the road to see Ashley Fay. We have not seen the other 1/4th of our family since she left our house on Christmas morning, with a tear in her eye. Little Emma Kate was so confused. She woke up at 5:00 am to see the joys that Santa had brought and the sadness of her big sister and daddy leaving for the airport. That day was filled with such emotion for her and me. Part of me wanted to relish every minute of the first Christmas morning that Emma Kate "understood." The other part of me had an empty heart that longed for MikeyT and Ashley, wishing they could see Emma Kate's face as she played with her first doll house and ride her first big wheel.

Six months to the DAY later and we will be with Sissy again, except this one will be all joy. Emma Kate completely understands now that she has a sister and she talks about her daily. Every night she kisses the picture of her and Ashley that hangs in their room and tells her Sissy "night-night." Every night, she says her prayers and when I ask the question, "Who else are we praying for tonight?," the answer is always "......ummmmm, an' Sissy!."

As the day approaches, she talks about her more and more. She asks when we are going to get Sissy "to pick her up."

Ashley as Annie last summer

As for me, I will get to see all the people I love the most, together. Happy. In love with one another. There is nothing greater.

Recently, someone asked me what I wanted for my birthday. Nothing. On my birthday I will be at the beach, with my girls and my husband. There is no material possession that could beat that. An added bonus is that Ashley is the most amazing dancer that I have ever seen. She is talented far beyond her years and to see her perform is breathtaking. She is the dancer I longed to be my entire life and watching her is up there in my top 5 things to do, period. Emma Kate has not been to see Sissy dance since she was 8 months old (although she watches videos of her tumbling and dancing almost daily), so I cannot wait to see the look on her face when she sees her very own sister on that stage. I will take lots and lots of pictures.What will mean the absolute most to me, even above Emma Kate's reaction, will be seeing my husband with both of his girls. MikeyT is a great daddy and husband, but 1/2 of his heart is always missing. It lives in Debary, Florida and it is only truly whole when he is with the both of them. He gets to see Emma Kate every day, but rest assured that he loves both of these little girls exactly the same. He is a daddy of two--and on Thursday morning at 8:38 when we arrive to see Ashley's first performance, we will be a family of four.