Q: What do rabbits have that nothing else in the world has?

A: Baby rabbits.

Holidays for me are all about family. My husband and I are lucky to have both of our families living close by, so we got to see everyone this Easter weekend without having to drive longer than 20 minutes. Told you I was lucky!

We went to Mass this morning with my husband's side of the family. As with most holiday Masses, there are lots of kids in attendance. Some are content to eat Cheerios or color, while others are a little more "vocal." All of it makes me smile and get a little teary all at the same time. I miss the days when my kids were that little. The privilege of being a parent is something I thank God for every single day of my life.

For as long as I can remember, all I wanted to be was a wife and mother. I am sure it had everything to do with the wonderful parents I was blessed with. They taught me unconditional love, and I wanted to pass that on to children of my own. My husband and I dated off and on all through high school, got engaged when I was 17 and he was 19, and married when I was 18 and he was 20. Keep in mind, that was almost 30 years ago. Times are a little different now. Ugh! You have no idea how old that makes me feel saying that.

There was never a doubt that we would start a family after we got married. Good thing we weren't in a big hurry. It was five years before our daughter was born. Two years of not being able to get pregnant turned into fertility testing, etc., etc., before I was finally diagnosed with endometriosis. Two months after having an outpatient procedure to eliminate the scar tissue caused by the endometriosis, I was pregnant. You have never seen anyone do a happy dance like the one we and our families did upon hearing the news.

I loved every single minute of being pregnant. Absolutely loved it. One month before my due date, I quit my job in anticipation of being a stay-at-home mom. Exactly on my due date of December 4, 1985, our beautiful baby girl was born. At the time, I thought I had come up with a completely original name for her. We liked names like Jessica and Erica. My husband's only sibling, a brother, is named Dan. So I came up with Danica. Of course, since then we have learned of a few others with that name, most notably Danica Patrick.

Fast forward 24 years. There have been dance recitals, piano recitals, softball games, volleyball games, highs, lows, tears, and laughter, but most of all . . . love. She is a tomboy, a fierce competitor, and wears her heart on her sleeve – like her mom. She is a hard worker, loves the outdoors, and stubborn – like her dad.

Meet my oldest baby rabbit ; )

Music to Scroll By

(ringtone on my cell when she calls)

Danica and her "sister," Joline

(best friends since they were two)

Danica and a best friend, Nikki

Vikings/Bears football game

(have played softball together for 11 years)

Flag Football Game with Co-Workers

(only girl on the field; everyone else was bundled up

and sitting on the sidelines – love it!)

Touring Lambeau Field

(She's only 5'2".)

St. Louis

(She was there for a St. Louis Rams football game with her boyfriend,

Scott, but I like to pretend she was there for a St. Louis Cardinals

baseball game. She and her boyfriend are Boston Red Sox fans. 

Thought I raised her better than that. Go figure. It's hard to tell,

but she is wearing a Guns 'N Roses t-shirt.)

Travis, Danica, and Carlos

(She bartends part time. Carlos is from Puerto Rico and

became a very good friend of Travis's at junior college.)

Danica and friends since grade school

(after Travis's baseball game – to the right of Travis)

Danica with her cousin, Ty, and Travis

(at my oldest niece's wedding)

Hope you had a nice weekend, too!