Monday was Amelia's sixth birthday. It's hard to believe she'll be in kindergarten next fall.
Amelia loves to sing and dance. I remember one day I was practicing the song "Unashamed Love" for Sunday's worship service. I looked up from the piano while singing "Of a childlike faith and of my honest praise and of an unashamed love" and saw her dancing along with such passion for such a small child it brought tears to my eyes. I will never forget that moment.
Amelia also loves to help in the kitchen. One of her favorite things to do is help grandma make banana bread. Grandma has a lot more patience than mom does so Amelia gets to do a lot more to help when she's with grandma. I am trying to get better about that. It's hard to remember that slowing down to let her help is worth the memories we are making and if that means it takes a little longer to get things done, that's okay.
Amelia definitely has a heart for helping. She is the first to offer to help with chores around the house. She also loves to help with babies and little kids. It is so sweet to see her interact with her younger cousins, especially Stella. She was thrilled to get to hold Stella and feed her a bottle all by herself. You could see the joy radiating from her face in that moment.
Another moment I will never forget is when she sang "Jesus Loves Me" at Aubrey's dedication. She was only four at the time, but it was so sweet. I was quite bummed that nobody thought to record that moment. She is already planning to sing something for Stella, too.
I look forward to having her in my music class next year. I can't wait to see how she is in a new setting. It's still hard to believe that my first little girl is old enough to be starting school, though. The nice thing about being a teacher is that the first day of school should be a little bit easier for me than it is for most moms since I'll actually be at the school with her. I am very thankful for that priviledge.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Daisy Ann
Yesterday was Daisy's third birthday. It's hard to believe she's that old already.
I always knew I wanted to have four kids although while Mike was deployed I started to get used to the idea of being done at three. Before he left that's what he wanted, but when he returned he was the one who convinced me to try for another one. Our family definitely seems complete with Daisy.
She was the easiest to name of our four children. The lucky girl gets to be named after three grandmas. My grandmas Daisy and Dorthea Ann and Mike's mom Patricia Ann.
Daisy's personality is hard to put into words. She is usually a very joyful and vibrant kid, but she can throw incredible tantrums if she doesn't get her way. Unfortunately, the big kids usually give in to her screaming which only makes it that much worse for mom and dad. She has a smile that can lighten up the darkest corners and a mischevious twinkle in her eyes.
She still tells on herself when she is being naughty (whether intentional or not I do not know). She will come over to me with her hands in fists and a particular look in her eyes and I know that she has something she's not supposed to have. Other times she'll have her hands behind her back and her cheeks obviously full of something and insist it's "nuhfing" when asked. Another favorite response to being caught is to blame the older kids. When caught with a marker next to fresh coloring on the wall she'll quickly blurt out "Mimi did it!" We'll definitely be working on truthfulness during her third year.
The name Daisy means "day's eye" which to me refers to the sunshine. Daisy most definitely brings sunshine to our lives. I can't wait to see what this year will bring as she grows into her new role as a preschooler.
I always knew I wanted to have four kids although while Mike was deployed I started to get used to the idea of being done at three. Before he left that's what he wanted, but when he returned he was the one who convinced me to try for another one. Our family definitely seems complete with Daisy.
She was the easiest to name of our four children. The lucky girl gets to be named after three grandmas. My grandmas Daisy and Dorthea Ann and Mike's mom Patricia Ann.
Daisy's personality is hard to put into words. She is usually a very joyful and vibrant kid, but she can throw incredible tantrums if she doesn't get her way. Unfortunately, the big kids usually give in to her screaming which only makes it that much worse for mom and dad. She has a smile that can lighten up the darkest corners and a mischevious twinkle in her eyes.
She still tells on herself when she is being naughty (whether intentional or not I do not know). She will come over to me with her hands in fists and a particular look in her eyes and I know that she has something she's not supposed to have. Other times she'll have her hands behind her back and her cheeks obviously full of something and insist it's "nuhfing" when asked. Another favorite response to being caught is to blame the older kids. When caught with a marker next to fresh coloring on the wall she'll quickly blurt out "Mimi did it!" We'll definitely be working on truthfulness during her third year.
The name Daisy means "day's eye" which to me refers to the sunshine. Daisy most definitely brings sunshine to our lives. I can't wait to see what this year will bring as she grows into her new role as a preschooler.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
A Doll For Aubrey Dru
I was going to wait to post about this until I had a picture of the Baby Be Blessed doll I gave my goddaughter, Aubrey, for her second birthday, but I decided I can always add a picture later since I forgot to take one and my sister is quite busy so it might be some time before she can send me one to include.
As I did with my own children I took great care in deciding which scripture to include on her doll. I finally decided upon Proverbs 31:30 "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." I wanted to choose something that would be a reminder as she grows up to keep her focus on what is really important and not allow the values of society to rule her life. Charm and beauty are both considered important aspects of a woman through the eyes of socitey, but the big picture is that a relationship with the LORD is what is truly of value.
The word "fear" can be confusing in that most of the time the things we fear are negative. To me, a fear of the LORD is not negative. I see it as a very deep respect, awe and honor. It's hard to find an earthly comparison for the fear we have for the LORD.
I found a study guide online that goes into more detail on this passage (and Proverbs 31 as a whole). It can be found at http://www.libertyonlineministries.com/media/9953/resource/biblestudy/Proverbs%2031%20(9).pdf I think it does a good job discussing what a fear of the LORD means.
As I did with my own children I took great care in deciding which scripture to include on her doll. I finally decided upon Proverbs 31:30 "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." I wanted to choose something that would be a reminder as she grows up to keep her focus on what is really important and not allow the values of society to rule her life. Charm and beauty are both considered important aspects of a woman through the eyes of socitey, but the big picture is that a relationship with the LORD is what is truly of value.
The word "fear" can be confusing in that most of the time the things we fear are negative. To me, a fear of the LORD is not negative. I see it as a very deep respect, awe and honor. It's hard to find an earthly comparison for the fear we have for the LORD.
I found a study guide online that goes into more detail on this passage (and Proverbs 31 as a whole). It can be found at http://www.libertyonlineministries.com/media/9953/resource/biblestudy/Proverbs%2031%20(9).pdf I think it does a good job discussing what a fear of the LORD means.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Pandora's Box
It's strange, you know, stepping into the past for a while. My heart hurts a bit, yet it is filled with the reassurance that he chose me and nothing else matters.
Mike had to clean out his bedroom at his dad's old house and found a box of notes from high school and a stack of letters and two journals from right before we met. Maybe it was wrong of me, but I couldn't help myself and I did have his blessing. I just had to peek into the minds of these women who came before me.
The high school ones weren't so bad. They were the typical "first love" infatuation and clinginess. In some I got a glimpse of what her life was like and that her home life really wasn't that great. It explained a lot about why she latched on to Mike as strongly as she did back then and also a lot of why she had such destructive behavior in their relationship. She didn't really have a model in her life to follow. I kind of feel sorry for her and I have definitely moved beyond the thinking that she was nothing more than a psycho freak. Realistically she was your typical high school girl in her first serious relationship and not so different from myself at that age (although my boyfriend was the clingy one in our relationship).
I was more selective with what I read from his other correspondences since that was much more personal. He had been dating a girl who was a year ahead of me in high school when we met. I read through letters from the month Mike was still dating her when we first met. I could tell they were having problems before I came into the picture. It was nice to read that I didn't steal him away from her as had been depicted to me by a (former) mutual friend. I had been told that they had been talking marriage before I came into the picture and in all honesty, it sounds like Mike had mentioned it in conversation and she hadn't been interested. She sounded shocked that he would even be thinking like that since it wasn't really on her mind yet and they were both still in college.
There were a few from after he had broken up with her and we started dating and as silly as it seems, I think those bother me the most. She tried so hard to get him to go back to her. She even told him lies about me that were alluded to in the letters, but spoken to him in person. I guess I have a hard time understanding how someone I knew through band in high school who I never really hung out with outside of school and who I never spoke to about my personal life could tell Mike that she knew me and we were friends and "there's more but I have to tell you in person." Of course I know now that she was just trying to make me look bad, but she told him I was a slut and I can't help but wonder if she came up with that on her own or if there was actually something going around about me like that. It baffles me because that couldn't be farther from the truth.
Perhaps I'm empathetic to a fault, but reading those letters gave me an insight into a person with very high walls who was very vulnerable inside. A person who didn't realize the amazing man she had in her life until he had moved on to someone new. A person who really was never right for him anyway, but who still acted so desperately to try to hold on to him. I can still remember writing a letter to Mike explaining to him that her seemingly innocent requests "as a friend" were really just ways she was trying to work her way back into his heart and if that's what he wanted to tell me now because I wasn't about to be strung along while they played games.
Obviously things ended in my favor, but I sometimes wonder how things could have worked differently to allow me to keep the friend that I lost through everything. Certainly she wasn't as close a friend as I had thought if she would choose sides rather than stay neutral when two of her friends liked the same guy. Regardless of the circumstances it still hurts to lose a friend.
July 1st is the 14th anniversary of our first date. I know none of this stuff matters anymore. He loves me and we have a wonderful family together and we were meant to be. Yet somehow my heart still hurts a bit when I think about the events that took place that summer and the lives that were changed because of it.
Mike had to clean out his bedroom at his dad's old house and found a box of notes from high school and a stack of letters and two journals from right before we met. Maybe it was wrong of me, but I couldn't help myself and I did have his blessing. I just had to peek into the minds of these women who came before me.
The high school ones weren't so bad. They were the typical "first love" infatuation and clinginess. In some I got a glimpse of what her life was like and that her home life really wasn't that great. It explained a lot about why she latched on to Mike as strongly as she did back then and also a lot of why she had such destructive behavior in their relationship. She didn't really have a model in her life to follow. I kind of feel sorry for her and I have definitely moved beyond the thinking that she was nothing more than a psycho freak. Realistically she was your typical high school girl in her first serious relationship and not so different from myself at that age (although my boyfriend was the clingy one in our relationship).
I was more selective with what I read from his other correspondences since that was much more personal. He had been dating a girl who was a year ahead of me in high school when we met. I read through letters from the month Mike was still dating her when we first met. I could tell they were having problems before I came into the picture. It was nice to read that I didn't steal him away from her as had been depicted to me by a (former) mutual friend. I had been told that they had been talking marriage before I came into the picture and in all honesty, it sounds like Mike had mentioned it in conversation and she hadn't been interested. She sounded shocked that he would even be thinking like that since it wasn't really on her mind yet and they were both still in college.
There were a few from after he had broken up with her and we started dating and as silly as it seems, I think those bother me the most. She tried so hard to get him to go back to her. She even told him lies about me that were alluded to in the letters, but spoken to him in person. I guess I have a hard time understanding how someone I knew through band in high school who I never really hung out with outside of school and who I never spoke to about my personal life could tell Mike that she knew me and we were friends and "there's more but I have to tell you in person." Of course I know now that she was just trying to make me look bad, but she told him I was a slut and I can't help but wonder if she came up with that on her own or if there was actually something going around about me like that. It baffles me because that couldn't be farther from the truth.
Perhaps I'm empathetic to a fault, but reading those letters gave me an insight into a person with very high walls who was very vulnerable inside. A person who didn't realize the amazing man she had in her life until he had moved on to someone new. A person who really was never right for him anyway, but who still acted so desperately to try to hold on to him. I can still remember writing a letter to Mike explaining to him that her seemingly innocent requests "as a friend" were really just ways she was trying to work her way back into his heart and if that's what he wanted to tell me now because I wasn't about to be strung along while they played games.
Obviously things ended in my favor, but I sometimes wonder how things could have worked differently to allow me to keep the friend that I lost through everything. Certainly she wasn't as close a friend as I had thought if she would choose sides rather than stay neutral when two of her friends liked the same guy. Regardless of the circumstances it still hurts to lose a friend.
July 1st is the 14th anniversary of our first date. I know none of this stuff matters anymore. He loves me and we have a wonderful family together and we were meant to be. Yet somehow my heart still hurts a bit when I think about the events that took place that summer and the lives that were changed because of it.
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