New Chapter

I was on Facebook the other day, when a friend shared an ingenious idea: to create a email address or blog for each of your children, then update them with funny things the kids say, special experiences you have with them, letters to the kids from time to time, etc. Well, I thought it was a wonderful idea, and had flirted with the idea of making a whole separate blog where I would post these things for my kids, but then I thought "We already have a family blog. Why don't I just post all of those things on there?" So, starting today, I am! This will still be the place were I post pictures of family outings, vacations, etc., but it will also now be our family journal, where our daily memorable experiences are shared. I'm really excited about this new chapter for our blog (including the opportunity it will give me to practice my writing skills), and hope that the memories I write down will be meaningful to our girls later on.

With that in mind, I want to share a couple experiences from this last week.

A few memories from February 26:

As I was leaving to pick Grace up from preschool, I went to Bethany and told her I'd be back soon, then gave her a kiss on her head, to which she replied "Tank you mommy." She is always SO good at saying "please" and "thank you," even for the little things like that! We love our polite girl!

Then, when Grace and I came home and walked in the front door, Bethany quickly ran into the room towards us, saying:
  "I yuv (love) you Gace (Grace) girl! I yuv you Gace girl!," and gave Grace a big hug.
 As she's hugging her, Grace (graciously, like a queen to her loving subject) said "Yes, you can hug me." It was hilarious! Bethany so looks up to Grace, loves to copy what she does, and misses her when she's at school.

I wrote this journal entry down about a tender experience I had with Bethany later that night:

Tonight, Bethany woke up a few hours after she’d fallen asleep, crying softly.
I went into her bedroom and gently lifted her out of her crib, her growing body in my arms, curl-topped head over my shoulder, and carried her into the living room to change her diaper. After changing her, I picked her up and held her for a minute as before, this time whispering to her how grateful I was for her sweetness, her hugs, “I love you’s,” and “thank you’s”, that I was so glad that I got to hug and kiss her everyday, and that she’d always be my special girl. When she began to stir, I returned to her bedroom so I could help calm her back to sleep. Standing beside her bed, I repositioned her in my arms so that I was cradling her, just as I had so many times before when she was a baby. Her sleepy eyes stayed open for only a moment before quietly fluttering closed as she drifted back to sleep. And as she did, I told her again how much I loved her and how grateful I was that she came into our family. My heart swelled with love for her in that moment, and with gratitude for the precious gift of being able to hold my now big baby like this one more time, maybe for the last time. Before laying her down I told her in the faintest whisper “I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always, as long as I’m living, my baby you’ll be.” Then I laid her down gently, (her waking only for a moment; and I was touched by how easily she was comforted by me and fell back asleep, letting me tuck her in) and softly placed her blankets over her little toddler-sized body, then lightly brushed my finger over her smooth cheek and soft curls, and after taking a few more seconds to savor the moment, left her room.

It was a experience I hope I never forget.