In the name of Jesus. Amen. Six. Six is an imperfect number. Three sixes, well everyone knows that’s bad. Everyone knows about seven – seven is God’s number! Six just doesn’t cut it. It’s just not perfect.
Except today. Six is just perfect to me today. Sophia turns six years old today. She wasn’t supposed to be one – let alone six. If she makes it to seven, that’ll be perfect too. But, today, six will work just fine.
She’s like every six year old. She’s lost a few teeth. She plays tee-ball and graduated from Kindergarten.
But, unlike most six year-olds, she has a barge named after her. Some people wait their whole lives and never get a ship named after them! Sophia’s already been there and done that…
Now Sophia won’t know she turned six. She doesn’t get that sort of thing. She doesn’t need a birthday to be happy anyway. She’s happy all the time!
To Sophia, every day seems like her birthday – or some special day – for her to explore the world. Every day is gift from God for her shimmy along the couch, walking from chair to chair, or an opportunity to give her hand to someone walking by. Take her hand and she’s on her way! That’s the way she rolls – sometimes literally – through her life.
Most times, she scoots along the ground, singing. She hums to herself when she’s happy.
“Hmm. Hmm. Hmm hmm Hmm Hmm.” She goes along with a song – singing and making music in her heart to the Lord. Not in words, but in hums. 
She hasn’t a care in a world. How could she not? She has a Father who loved her in the giving up of His Son, who gave her parents, brothers, friends, teachers, a cat, clothing, shoes, house, home, and now even a dog.
From humming, she goes to laughter. Short bursts – from her insides. Contagious, “Heh heh heh.” After She starts without knowing it, you will be laughing too. With you laughing, she laughs all the more. The joy of the Lord is her strength!
She still loves Dora the Explorer. Every television should have it on! If you pass, she’ll hand the remote to you. Didn’t you know that she was the center of your universe? You should tend to her needs before your own!
She’d rather have M&M mini’s than birthday cake. Wouldn’t you? She likes what she likes.
And she really likes animals. Merlin, the cat, is her favorite toy. Hmm hmm. Yank yank on the cat’s tail. We tell her to stop and are certain that she knows better. But the good she wants to do, she doesn’t do. And the thing she really wants to do – like pull on that fluffy tail, she does.
But the dog… the Sophia and the dog seem to have issues. Mikey waits and watches her play with plastic toys. Snatches them away. She pursues and takes her toy back. He waits…and takes the toy again. Is it stealing when she is having such fun? Must not be! She hums and laughs as she goes about life with her new four-legged friend.
She’ll probably never have a boyfriend, children, be a doctor, or a scientist. I don’t think she’ll care. She’s our very special trisomy 9q, partial monosomy 21q girl. Just two of those diagnosed in all the world – one boy in Sweden and our Sophia!
Will she never do those things? I don’t know. Do you? The Lord does. He’s the one who made her, washed her sins away in the baptismal font, feeds her the Word, and gives her the songs she sings – in every hum and heh.
He’s even taught her to fold her hands to pray! To Jesus alone… the Lord who gives her gifts and makes even six just perfect today. “Hmm hmm Hmm.” In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Happy Birthday, Sophia, you beautiful girl!
Praise the Lord for putting such a soul in a Lutheran family.
This is Selena – Sophia’s Aunt. As I am reading this blog, there goes Sophia “hmm, hmm, hmm”, going along her merry way. Everyone sang happy birthday to the two of us and she was so excited!!! Clapping and laughing and kicking her legs!!!
Hannah and I were just talking about her earlier cause she remembered today was her birthday. she really does make me happy every time i see her and hear that contagious laughter!~FL1
Happy Birthday Sophia!
Last month, the Miss Sophia, a 100 foot long construction barge, with a 22 ton crane, a 10,000 psi pump, other construction equipment, and sleeping quarters for 6 oilfield workers or divers, was christened in Houma Louisiana.
There were about a hundred people at the christening, including the local Catholic parish priest, and the guest of honor, Miss Sophia, of Houston, Texas. The priest went up on the barge, sprinkled holy water on all of the equipment, said the seaman’s prayer, and blessed the boat.
Then came Miss Sophia, who with a little help from Mike Platt, and she broke a bottle of champaign on the bow of the boat, and everyone at the dock cheered her. Her two little brothers and her mom and grandmother and everyone else there came up to little Miss Sophia of Houston, Texas, and congradulated her.
Then we had a big barbeque, some cajun dishes and lots of soda pop. Miss Sophia and her family sat at the guest of honor table.
Miss Sophia and all of her friends took terns driving the party boat, and I can truly say that the whole bunch are speed deamons.
While they were speeding up and down the bayou, a light rain started, and thunder and lightening began in the area. I know the Lord above joined the party and was cheering them on with lightening and thunder and a little rain. Zack said that the light rain hit the kids in the faces, and that Sophia loved it!
The Miss Sophia vessel is going out this week into the oilfields in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico to work on oilwells. A portrait of little Miss Sophia hangs on the wall of the crew quarters eating area, where thousands of workers crewing the barge, working off the barge as invitees, subsea divers, and oil company personel, will see her and admire her for the next 30 years.