My Precious Baby Girl

That is what I have always called my daughter. Sometimes she replies with, "pweshus baby mommy." She turned four today and I have been crying off & on for a few days. She just fell asleep sitting next to me on the couch, talking non-stop right up until her eyes drooped and closed.

Our baby years are over! I even emptied out the drawer where we kept her diapers & wipes & diaper cream & Walmart bags. Now it is filled with hair clips & headbands, pony tail holders and sun glasses. Yes, life is much easier now that every one but the dog potties on their own, gets dressed on their own, and almost feeds themselves. But there is just something magical about a child's life when she is young. Her skin is so new & beautiful, her energy is never-ending, her imagination is vibrant, but most of all her forgiveness is freeing. And let me add that her comments are hilarious!

I love this baby girl so much. She has such a bright future ahead of her. I just hope that her friends can handle her outgoing personality! My prayer for her is always to have wisdom in making right decisions (because I have a huge fear of the teenage years!), and that she will love the Lord our God with all her heart, soul, mind & strength. That part scares me too. I know that if she loves God with all her strength, it might mean that she is to love him from a place far away from me. And it might also mean she has to love Him so sacrificially that it takes her comfort, her health, or her life.

But for now we are in the stage of bling-bling, glitter, Barbie, Polly-pockets, and thankfully it is still cool to hug & kiss your parents, hold their hand while walking through a parking lot, and cuddle at bedtime. I used to stand in her room at bedtime and hold her, singing whatever came to mind, usually "Jesus Loves Me" or "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", and sometimes "Jesus is All the World to Me" and other hymns. She would rub my back as I rubbed hers. She can be so considerate and thoughtful. (I have to say, she does actually listen to most of what I say, as long as I say it when she is not talking. And she follows instructions really well.) Anyway, her room is the best place for me to pray. When I held my sleeping baby girl in that dark room, I was in my sanctuary. Now she is too big to hold while standing up, so I kneel by her bed to pray. (Long prayers put kids to sleep!)

She is too complex for me to summarize all the things I love about her...her cute speech imperfections, her special relationship with chocolate milk, her unique fashion decisions, her love of shoes, her relationship with her brother, her naturally highlighted hair, her decisive, forthright personality, her sweet face, her silly voices & impersonations, her uninhibited dancing anytime she hears music, and her artistic ability. This is pretty sappy, I admit. But I want to write this here so that someday maybe she'll read it and know how much she is adored. The weird thing is that she is so much like me, and I understand her more than she'll ever know. The way she throws a fit, the things she gets mad about, the way she laughs; most of the time I know what motivates her without her telling me.

My precious baby girl is just so precious and full of life. I'm so thankful to be her mom, and I don't know what I'd do without her! Our lives wouldn't be as joyful and rich.

Happy Birthday Precious Baby Girl!