4 years ago was one of the greatest days of my entire life. It was the day I got to meet my beautiful twins after a very scary pregnancy.

My due date was April 10th, but my sweet babies arrived early on February 19th via an emergency c-section due to a severe case of preeclampsia. I will never forget the calm I felt that afternoon in the operating room. My situation was dire, but I felt a peace I hadn’t experienced before. I knew that on that day my life was going to change forever. My family was growing by two and my heart would become fuller than I ever knew it could be.

It would be a few days before I could actually hold my babies because of my condition. But when that moment came I felt a wave of emotion and love come rushing over me. They were so tiny but so incredibly beautiful.

They spent the next month in the NICU and each day our separation was agonizing. We spent as much time as we could in the small hospital room they shared with as many as three other babies. But the day we got to bring them both home was just glorious. We thought it was the beginning of a great new story.

It was. It just wasn’t the story we expected.

4 months later Olivia was diagnosed with brain cancer. We fought alongside our precious girl for 16 months through surgeries, MRI’s, chemo, hospitalizations and countless doctor’s appointments. We tried everything humanly possible to save our little girl, but her cure wasn’t what we hoped for. Olivia passed away on October 22, 2013 at 20 months and 3 days old. She’s free from cancer but she’s also free from this earth.

Today marks the 3rd birthday we’ve now celebrated without her and it hurts. She’s missing and her absence is felt in every ounce of my being. But we’ve learned so much from Olivia. She fought with a grace and a courage that is truly admirable. And she did it all with a smile on her face.

Happy birthday in heaven my beautiful girl. Mommy, Daddy, Wyatt and Landon love you and miss you.

Olivia Caldwell Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit that raises money for pediatric cancer research. We are asking that everyone who can donates $4 in honor of what would have been Olivia’s 4th birthday. You can donate at this link: https://www.flipcause.com/secure/cause_pdetails/NTI2MA==. You can also learn more by visiting our website.