The world should be celebrating today...&% years ago, Netta made her way to our planet and we are all blessed by her presence.

I have to say, she took her time getting here. Labor began on Sunday morning and she didn't make her appearance until Thursday. I can just picture her at the door of the womb..hands and feet against the door jamb, saying " I don't wanna go out there!"

Because it was a difficult labor, she spent the first couple of days in an incubator, so she was 2 days old before I got to hold her for the first time.

She was perfect! Pink, tiny, bald and all the required fingers and toes. Little did I realize at the time what a long road we would travel together.

I'd like to say it was an easy road, but that was not the case. Annetta was the first of 5 children, she was my first, and the one I made most of my mistakes with. It's like anything else I suppose, the first is always the hardest.

Not that she was a difficult child, on the contray, she was easy..the difficulty was with me...I was inexperienced as a parent and didn't really know what I was doing.

She was a "little mother" to her siblings, she was protective of them, she tried to teach them the lessons she had learned, she teased them and occasionally tormented them. Mostly, she loved them.

Hers was not an easy childhood. Being raised by a single mother is never easy for a child. But..she survived and grew into an amazing adult.

She's a very giving person. I remember once when my car broke down and I didn't have the money for repaiars. She wrote out a check on the spot and never asked for repayment. I know she had to do without things she needed for herself, yet she didn't hesitate to help me. That's an example of her material sense of giving.

More importantly, she gives of herself..her heart is as big as the ocean. She is THE most empathetic person I've ever known. She feels deeply, she is sensitive to the needs of others. I don't ever remember her putting herself first in any situation. She should, but she doesn't.

She has a wonderful sense of humor. Even in the worst of times, she can find laughter, she can make me smile on the darkest of days. She brings light to the room when she makes an entrance.

Even now, at &% years of age, she looks like a little girl...that angelic face..her beautiful smile and the twinkle in those baby blue eyes..one would be hard put to tell her real age.

This is not to say Annetta is not tough. When put to the test, and trust me, she has been tested many times, she can hold her own with anyone, man, woman or beast. I would not want her angry with me..she has the tenacity of a Tazmanian Devil and can make a grown man weep. I have seldom seen this part of her, and I pity anyone who does.

She is an amazing mother to 3 beautiful children. She is a loving sister, a remarkable aunt and a considerate friend.

Best of all...she's my kind, considerate, loving, funny, and deeply loved daughter. I'm a very lucky gal.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NETTER!!!!!!!!!!