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Happy Birthday to my baby girl!! !9 years old!!! I don't know where the time went....but there has never...no NEVER... been a dull moment with Alyssa around.  She is silly and zany and she can be the life of the party....and many times she is the first one to pass out after a busy day.  She has always considered herself the 'dumb one'....but is the best, most committed, organized student.  She laughs....hysterically.... and cries....just as hysterically, I have always said that Alyssa doesn't cry, she weeps.   She worries about everything....and everyone.  She is often anxious, she can be impatient and short tempered  She is a beautiful, graceful dancer....so many people have told me how much her performing has moved them...but she is humble, and doesn't see it.  She is musical...sings, plays musical instruments...and then I find out that she loves listening to the chipmunks.  She loves her friends, she only holds on to the ones who are real.  She is creative, she is frugal, she appreciates beauty, she is sensitive, she is wise in matters of the heart, she loves animals, she loves the elderly.  She is funny....hysterical, and she doesn't try to be....she just is.  Sometimes she gets frustrated that some people find her funny when she isn't in a laughing mood.....I think that is called charm.  She has always kept up with fashion and is truly girly in all those, fashion, hair, nail ways.  She loves tea and candles.  I mean she REALLY loves them and I just don't get it.  .She cares about people.....she really cares, and anything people do for her...touches her deeply.

So many people think they know Alyssa, but she is complicated, and often a contradiction. They see the silly goofy side, but don't always see the other parts.  They make assumptions and predictions based on that little bit of herself she chooses to show the world.  They may not understand how still, as a college girl, she isn't so interested in spreading her wings....unless she is flying in the direction of home.   Those of us who know her, are continually charmed by her, touched by her, exasperated by her....and so very thankful for her!!  I have always called Alyssa my miracle child.  She came into the world, when I wasn't sure we would be able to have any more children.  She was a gift to me then and she continues to be a gift to me, to our family, to her friends, our friends..... and to all the world.

With all my heart...with all the prayers in me....I pray that this year is for her, just as joyful and beautiful as she is!!

"Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart."

~ Kahlil Gibran

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