Celebrating A Special Person In My Life

I have always believed that God always puts people in our lives who walk through life with us. It doesn't matter if it is a good or bad thing that is happening because that person is always there for us! They are also someone who we can count on and we can trust. In this blog post, I want to talk about a very special person who has been there for me and my family through the good and bad times. Her name is Crystal and on her birthday I want to celebrate her!

When my sister Hannah and I were small, we went to a small church by our home for preschool. One of the teachers there was named Crystal. Hannah would go there in the morning and I would always ride the bus to be dropped off there after I spent a few hours at my elementary school for early intervention for kids with disabilities. This way, Hannah and I could ride home together.

When I first started going to preschool, I thought that I could use my disability as an excuse to pretend that I couldn't do anything. Besides, I didn't want to do what the teachers were telling me to do because what did my teachers know about what I could do or couldn't do? Little did I know, my parents had already talked to Crystal and told her to make sure that I did everything that the other kids were doing to the best of my abilities. Therefore, my plans backfired pretty quickly! Crystal would always call me out when I was trying to pull off a trick.

However, it did take her a few days to figure out why I had four or five Famous Amos Chocolate Chip cookies in my lunch box and Hannah had none. I would tell her that Hannah was a bad girl so she didn't get any but my friends could have some. Little did they know, during nap time; I would roll (literally) and reach my hand through the vending machine to grab my cookies. That was until however, Crystal caught me in the act. To say that I was a mischievous child would be an understatement and Crystal would agree!

After our preschool year, our parents needed a full-time nanny and Crystal wanted to leave her current job. My parents offered her the job as our nanny and she accepted. That is just one example of when God closed a door but opened a window for all of us. Our former nanny that we had for a few years before that, had to leave us to take care of a sick family member. Therefore, God answered all of our prayers. Crystal immediately became part of the family.

Crystal always encouraged me and Hannah to be as artistic and creative as possible. We would do all kinds of things like paint, draw, bake, and do photoshoots together. We would also go to the library together and read different kinds of books. Crystal would also take us to the park to feed the ducks and she would take us around the different playgrounds around town and let us play as long as possible. Crystal's main goal was to make Hannah and me to be well-rounded Godly young women. Crystal still considers us as her "first daughters" and Hannah and I also call her our "second Mom" at the same time.

When Crystal got married to her husband Josh, she asked both of us to be her flower girls. Hannah and I were so excited that we were going to be wearing pretty dresses and helping make Crystal and Josh's big day special. I remember that when she took us wedding cake shopping with her one day, I was trying my hardest to convince her to get The Little Mermaid cake that was on display. I couldn't understand why she wouldn't buy that cake over the less Disney-like ones. Now that I'm older, however, I understand why Crystal picked the more elegant cake. Thankfully their wedding day was so beautiful and I am glad that Hannah and I were part of it!

When Crystal had her first child, she had to quit being our full-time nanny. Neither Hannah nor I wanted her to leave, but no matter what. we knew that she was always going to have a special place in our hearts! Thankfully even to this day, Crystal is still very present in our lives. Hannah and I still talk to her often and see her and her family at their house. We can also talk to her about boys, life, or whatever we want.

It has been a huge blessing to see what an amazing mom Crystal is to her kids even though sometimes she doesn't think that she is. Hannah and I have always admired her for the Godly, sweet, and compassionate person that she is. I would not be the woman that I am today if it weren't for the influence that Crystal has had in my life. Thank you Crystal for everything that you do for Hannah and me and happy birthday! We love you!