Some Friday Favorites

As much as I talk about how fast time flies and how I wish I could hold on to these moments, which is still true, I think I feel an equal amount of excitement as I watch the dynamics and relationships grow and change as the days pass by.  My conversations with my kids, Emerson and Braeden in particular, get to hold substance beyond the short simple answers and vague conversations they used to.  And with it, the level of trust and friendship doesn't necessarily go up a notch,  but perhaps just a few notches deeper, if that makes sense.  Anyway, one of the new things I've so enjoyed is the notes that have become a habit of being found on Emerson's white board.  Everyday after she goes to school I check it.  Every day when she gets home, she checks it, because there is bound to be a continuing conversation about our days left on there.   It has quickly become one of my favorite things.

Sister and brother roles have made their adjustments, too.  One of their new pastimes has become Emerson reading her big-kid chapter books to Braeden (can I just throw in Junie B. Jones - hilarious!), which inevitably leads to a lesson in phonograms and how to sound out words, which made me feel kind of bad for Braeden because he couldn't just enjoy the story, until I realized her little lessons were working!  That kid can sound out words to both read and write pretty well now!  Who knew?!

Guess my job as mom is done!

Braeden has rediscovered his love for his stuffed animals (I've noticed the trend of certain toys continually going in and out of style).  These guys showed up to watch a movie with us the other day.

And then there's this kid.

Landen.  These days, this is how bedtime goes down.  Face snuggled into the soft side of his green pillow pet and my right hand cupped around the chub of his left cheek.  Soon, he begins to smack his lips, a signal that his eyes will soon be blinking their final blinks.  It's then that he tries to hold onto those last moments of consciousness by fidgeting around, rubbing his head and running his fingers through his hair.  Then, its my cue to take his hand, settling those figity fingers, and I give it one last squeeze, almost magically sending him off to dreamland.

Almost every night ends like this....

And since I've already got two pictures of this sleeping baby, here's just one more...

I don't think the joy of breathing in my kids as they sleep will ever fade.  

Oh, and I'm going to take a cue from several of my bloggy friends and do a Friday Phone Dump.  These are all pictures I've taken with my phone and are on Instagram (if you are, too, my user name is sandra_kelly)!

Until next time.... :)

(Linking up with Rachel at Finding Joy today!)

A letter to my girl on her birthday

I'm a week late posting this (man, life has felt like it's getting away from me these days!).  A week ago today Emerson turned 7 years old.  Seven!  When I imagined having kids I imagined the littles I've had.  Seven, though.  That's big.  That's old.  That's not even close to a baby anymore. 

But my baby she'll always be.

And when she's someday older, together we'll sit down as mom and daughter, friends, and I imagine us chatting, laughing, and maybe crying together.  We'll talk about life, how things were, and what we were most thankful for.  Here are some of the things I hope to tell her, about the things I knew and saw when she turned seven. 

Emerson,
You are SO special.  I can see clearly some of the gifts that God has gifted you with in your seven years. You are one of the most compassionate, caring, sensitive, and most aware little person I've met.  And you may think I'm biased, and I am, but you are what you are.  You are my beautiful girl.

You're so smart - surprising me sometimes with an understanding beyond your years.   Your inquisitiveness feeds into  thoughtfulness - always wanting to know more so you can understand better and therefore do better somehow. 

When someone has caught your heart, I love how you let them know.  In pictures of crayons or paint, words, phone calls (and now lately, texts!), or any way to help, you'll find a way to show it. 

You are an artist!  I'm so excited for you about this!  You have a fantastic creative mind and a perseverance to do things right that makes your work shine!  I am so proud of you!

You can also be a perfectionist, practicing and practicing until you get it absolutely right.  Every time. (And right now your cartwheels and handstands amaze!)

You love us well.  I can see in you a genuine desire to serve us and show us that we are important to you (even those brothers who pester and pick on you most days!  :)). 

Someday, that smile of yours will melt the boys' hearts.  But for now it brightens the room, spreads easily, and makes my day. 

You are such a good friend.  Your desire to care for your friends and give them gifts is beautiful.  I pray so often that you remain the faithful and true friend that you are and that you find the friends who are the same to you.

I don't use feisty too often when I describe you, but I know you have a little bit of it in there somewhere!  And I can't wait to see how you  use it to push yourself and others to do well and at the same time use it for some fun and harmless mischief along the way.  :)

Kiddo, you celebrate life.  You celebrate well.  For any occasion (even our hamster's birthday) you are my go-to girl.  Decorating, planning, inviting, and preparing - you love to do it all.

I'm thankful to have you on my team in this house.  Just us girls.  :)  And there's something to say about that - something special about us.  We stick together.

I also want to tell you that you have blessed me so much since coming home from our long trip to California.  Your desire to be with me, to help me, to show me love and hugs and words of affirmation when you sense I'm discouraged has meant the world to me.  Don't let your young age fool you.  He is using you even now.  For a girl of now only seven, you have served me and showed me your faithfulness and kindness.  I'm so, so proud of you.

I can't wait to watch you grow and learn, fall down and pick yourself up again, and hear the details of your every day as long as you want to tell me them.  I pray that I show you every day that you are worth my time, my energy, and my heart.  There is nothing more pressing to me than our family and each other.  You are, and always will be, my sweet girl.

You are my first born.  I thank God for you every single day and pray for the special plans He has for you.  Happy (belated) birthday to my Emerson Anne!  I love you so much.

Love,
Mommy

Magic Moments

This week I decided to take my daughter's pictures.  I've begun taking my children's pictures, special pictures, for their birthdays.  I like to have one set of special photos to look back on, to remember just as they looked and hopefully show a little of their personality they've grown into during the past year.  I'm a little early this year - her 7th birthday isn't until mid October - because Jon and I will be gone the few weeks leading up to her birthday, so I decided to get them done now.

She and I found the dress she wanted to wear, slightly curled and put up her hair and after some sweet eye batting and begging from her, I agreed to let her put on just a touch of makeup.  We waited until almost sundown and drove to a field next to a beautiful church in town.  We trekked out into the middle of this field and began our little photo shoot.  At first I told Emerson to sit this way and pose that way, but she quickly became distracted by the abundance of wildflowers around.  Trying to keep her focused on the task at hand - I didn't have much more time with visible sunlight left - I kept trying to redirect her so I could get some more shots.  She obeyed, but then would find another, "just perfect" flower.  And as she would wander this way and that, finding her perfect flowers, admiring them, smelling them and dancing her own sweet dance in her own little world, oblivious to my camera, I caught some magic moments with my sweet girl.
(It reminded me that I could still breathe this girl in.  I remember when she was a wee little baby and I loved to breathe her in.  I had a small moment of fleeting pain because my sweet baby girl is still growing, wishing I could just preserve her and keep her, but it passed quickly as I thought of all I have to look forward to with her...sigh!)

Her personality is soft and sweet and tender (with a little spunk and silly in there, too) and I feel I was blessed to be able to capture just a little bit of that a few nights ago.  I'm so thankful for this girl and for the chance God gave me to capture her sweet spirit on camera.

Here are some of our magic moments:

The church near where we took the pictures.