Sometimes the best place to start a story is in the middle. Especial when you are sitting down to write and you are stumped at what to say. A very important date in the middle of my story is April 27, 1995. It was a birth, a time to move forward in hope. It was a promise of great value. It was a beautiful baby girl. My wife would slap me if I said it was painless, but it certainly was joyous.

Isabelle Meaghan Snyder was more than just any baby. Her name means “God Promises a Pearl of Great Value”. But what was of most important to her family is that she was healthy. See we had lost our first daughter, Jasmyne Marie, at 12 days old just 10 months earlier, due to many health complications. Isabelle was a promise from God that he would watch over us and over Jasmyne. A promise that said that no matter how deep life might go it would also go just as high.

Happy birthday to my extremely smart and glorious daughter. Wishing many of God’s Promises upon you and the ability to find your own wings. You are the young lady your mother dreamed of.