I believe God gives us what we need, not necessarily what we want or what we pray for each day.  It has taken a long time to understand that.  Twenty-four years ago in Melbourne, Florida, I gave birth to Lauren Kelly Davis.  She was in many ways a wonder baby.

I had serious difficulties carrying pregnancies. Amber, my first successful pregnancy, was born in 1982.  By 1992, I had two children but had seven pregnancies.  I had surgeries and treatments but another baby was out of the question it seemed.  I took a new, high pressure job at a hospital in Florida and moved across the country.  A few months into the new job, I just wasn’t feeling well and found out-surprise-that I was four months pregnant.  With some serious medical intervention I delivered a three week premature baby that was alive and kicking and has never stopped since!

From that moment on, Lauren was on the go.  She loved animals and the water.  Lauren was dragged to her sister Amber’s softball games and her sister Ally’s riding lessons.  Lauren had no (zero) interest in baseball but tons of excitement around the horses.

 Lauren got on her first horse at age five and rarely looked away.  Lauren also pushed the envelope in terms of what type of riding she would do.               

The rest of us were content to ride English some but never had been big jumpers.  Lauren only wanted to ride English and has worked her way up through the rings in terms of height.

Happy birthday to my last child Lauren.  I was blessed to have you join me in this world.