To my little brunette...

Sweetheart,

I cannot believe you are almost five months old. Where has the time gone? Over the past few months you have blossomed into a little beauty, both inside and out. You have a smile that spreads across your face so wide that your eyes close and dimples form on your chubby cheeks. Dad and I call it smiling with your eyes, and I hope you always grin with such enthusiasm.

You have a full, dark head of hair that has strangers exclaiming, "Look at all her hair! What a cutie!" in the grocery store, park, and playground all the time. I love your silky bob, and the way you prefer to wear it these days, bam-bam style on top of your head.

You love people and are definitely more social than your brother. He saunters away from crowds to examine things alone, you crane your neck to take in all the activity, and smile broadly whenever someone chats with you. Some mornings you will wake up and sing in your crib at the top of your lungs, and let me tell you lady, you have volume your brother has yet to achieve!

Your dad and I tell each other daily, "Just wait till she can crawl, we will hardly keep up!", because you, my dear, are a mover and a shaker. From the time you were about 2 and a half months you started rolling in both directions...not content to stay on a blanket for long. In the last few weeks, you have been getting up on your knees and rocking your little heart out...you are tiny but mighty!

As far as food goes, you started waking up often in the night about two weeks ago, so I figured it might be time for you to try some veggies to fill you up! Your first meal was sweet potato puree, and oh. my.  you gobbled it up with a huge grin! I thought one meal would suffice, but later that day at dinner you were opening your mouth so round and leaning into every bite I took, so I figured you wanted more! That was a little over week ago, and you have eaten a solid meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner ever since.

Bedtime is usually more of a suggestion for you, and you like to be unpredictable when it comes to going to sleep. You have covered the full spectrum of sleep habits, from up every few hours, to sleeping twelve hour stretches...like I said, unpredictability is your trademark:) Rest assured, dear one, that the smile you give us when we hearken your call redeems even the most sleepless of nights!

Your personality is so life giving, full of fun and spunk, and I cannot wait to watch you, as you continue to grow into a beautiful little girl. You have blessed us in countless ways, and we thank God for you.

Love you,
Momma

To the little house that made us...

Six months ago we moved into a "new" home. It has been a wonderful change for our family, one that we are so glad we made. Last week we drove through our old neighborhood, reminiscing about our favorite rooms and the precious memories we have of our old house. We drove by the house slowly, admiring the work that the new owners had begun... a small rose garden off the back patio, a new decorative wall in the back yard...we craned our necks to take it all in. Then we looped back around the block and drove past again.

Today I found a post tucked in my archives that I had forgotten I had written, and it made me smile...

Written February 2013...

To the little house that made us,

Within your four walls so much life was made. From the night we arrived on your doorstep as newlyweds, to the day we crossed the threshold with a new baby in our arms, you have provided the perfect place for memories to be made. We have sanded, spackled, and painted you, driven nails into you and shingled you...we have removed some things and added other things to you... we have fixed you when you have broken, and polished you as we went.

You have been privy to laughter over dinners with friends and newborn cries in the middle of the night...to twinkle lights filling your corners in the winter, and sunshine filling your walls in the summer. Little fingers and toes have rolled, crawled, and walked all over you, while four paws followed close behind.

We purchased you as two individuals with a big dream of a life together, and are leaving you with more memories, smiles, and happiness than we ever could have imagined when we first held your keys. We opened the door that first day as a boy and girl with a new diamond ring and a few paintbrushes, and are closing the door behind us in a few short weeks as a husband and wife with a sweet boy, his furry best friend, and a new bun in the oven...

So here's to you little house, thank you for the warmth your walls provided. Although we will miss you, we are taking the very best with us to the next home we will share...

May your rooms continue to be filled with joy and love and laughter in the coming months, as a new family makes you theirs.

The sound of little feet.

There is a beautiful country song that plays in my head all the time. We danced to it at our wedding, and I strum it out on my guitar from time to time. The words are sweet and humble, a melody of remembrance and celebration for a lifetime together...

Remember when I was young and so were you
and time stood still and love was all we knew
You were the first, so was I
We made love and then you cried
Remember when

Remember when we vowed the vows
and walked the walk
Gave our hearts, made the start, it was hard
We lived and learned, life threw curves
There was joy, there was hurt
Remember when

Remember when old ones died and new were born
And life was changed, disassembled, rearranged
We came together, fell apart
And broke each other's hearts
Remember when

Remember when the sound of little feet
was the music
We danced to week to week
Brought back the love, we found trust
Vowed we'd never give it up
Remember when

Remember when thirty seemed so old
Now looking back it's just a stepping stone
To where we are,
Where we've been
Said we'd do it all again
Remember when

Remember when we said when we turned gray
When the children grow up and move away
We won't be sad, we'll be glad
For all the life we've had
And we'll remember when
(Alan Jackson)

The lyrics tell a story, some of which mirrors ours, some of which differs. There are lines that resonate strongly with me now that I am a mom. On days where toys are scattered around the floor and my head is fuzzy from not getting enough sleep the night before, days where the unexpected happens and threatens to undo me... it think of the line "Remember when the sound of little feet was the music we danced to week to week", and I remember that those little feet slapping across the hardwood and creaking the floorboards above my head while I am making dinner... they are music, pure music.

And I would venture to say that the sweet sound of a toddler running around in complete abandon brings sheer joy to our Creator's ears, and in His infinite love and kindness, He allows us to have those precious moments as parents to savor and reflect on His goodness to us.

This summer has been full of those sweet, simple, good moments, both as parents and as a couple... so many refreshing times when God pulled back the heavens and we were privileged to bask in the warmth of His glorious sunshine.

I know that the soundtrack to our lives right now, baby coos and little boy laughter, will eventually run out...the needle on the record player will run off the edge and God will gently place a new vinyl on the turntable and set it in motion. It will contain excited chatter, and big kid laughter, and heavier sets of feet bounding down the stairs in the morning... and that will be glorious too, because isn't that what makes the mundane so magical? that seasons of life are ever changing, evolving, growing? And isn't that what makes God so special? because He always was, always is, and always will be the same?

What a beautiful dichotomy this life is...

Today I am enjoying the changes that this season of life has ushered in, and the constancy of a God that is always good, all the time, without fail.