(catching up on December posts!! Check them out below if you want to see how busy and fun our month was!)
Claire - Sometimes I just can't believe how big you are getting. You have such a sweet, loving, nurturing heart that is beyond your years. Right now I'm listening to you encourage your sister to pretend to go ice skating with your baby dolls in the foyer. The best big sister around for sure!
Although you're getting older, there are still times when I get a glimpse of my baby girl. I will be sad when they go. You still say some of the cutest things! Here are a few I'm holding onto these days:
"stunk" = skunk - too cute!
"
Jofes" = Joseph - I thought this would be gone this year but nope! Makes me smile every.single.time.
"strange cheese" = string cheese - one of your favor tie snacks
You are also still completely attached to your baby pillow. It's getting pretty worn as you've slept with it every night since you were about 18 months.
Ever so often I like to ask you "Will you always be my baby?" and you always say yes but about 5-6 months ago you said "I'll be your baby even when I'm 5 and 16" - you will forever be my baby.
One of my favorite times with you is our drive to church on Wed. nights. You and I go together while daddy has been staying home with Eden (won't be too long before she comes with us!) It's amazing how often times a song on the radio will spur on the most wonderful conversations. Usually about God, heaven, what a song means, etc. There have been SO many I can't write them all but one in particular was you trying to understand heaven. It wasn't your typical "Are there going to be toys in heaven?" or "Can people in heaven hear us?" - you like to ask this a lot - but it was you asking me about someone on the radio who was talking about having cancer. You said (paraphrasing):
c: "What's cancer?"
m: "It's when your body gets really sick"
c: "Do you die from it?"
m: "Sometimes - if your body gets sick enough"
c: "That means Mikey had cancer?"
m: "No - she died in a car accident."
c: "So you have to die in a car accident to go to heaven?"
m: "No - you have to believe in Jesus to go to heaven and accept His dying on the cross for our sins. His grace is what gets us to heaven. That's why we need to tell everyone we know about Jesus."
c: "There are people who don't believe in Jesus?!" (such shock in your voice)
WOW - didn't know I'd be having this conversation with you when you were 4 1/2! I pray you will always ask us questions and we will always do the best we can to answer.
Just the other night while I was getting your bed ready you asked out of the blue "When you die can I have a picture of you to remember?" (you meant to remember me by) That just about put me into tears. I told you that daddy would have a lot of pictures of me and talk about me a lot - tell her stories of me,etc. So you asked "What if Daddy dies too?" so I told you Grandma and Grandpa would have them for her. You seemed content with that answer.
One more serious one =) Around Halloween time you took my face in your hands, I love it when you do that, and you told me so seriously "Always remember this (long dramatic pause)... I will always love you." I will ALWAYS remember =)
(You are becoming quite the photographer these days! You took this picture of yourself while we were in Wisconsin)
Oh you say the funniest, cutest things right now! Not sure where you come up with them at times =) Here are some we always want to remember!
About a month ago you were walking hand in hand with
Kendrit at church. He said he was going to walk you to the car - he's a sweetie! You turned to him and said "If you were a sandwich, I'd eat you!" Oh, we lost it! We thought it was more than hilarious and still wondering where you got that one =)
The other week you were climbing on the rope ladder on our
playscape in the back yard. You lost your footing and fell a bit but caught yourself with your legs on the ladder rungs. You said "Oh, I'm glad God caught me!" and a little later "Glad He wasn't talking to anyone so He caught me." With a little chuckle and wide eyes - as serious as you could be!
My baby girl - we love you so much! I want to always remember you at this age and just soak up every God given moment we have with you.
Claire and Mary Ellen
The best group shot we could get with Eden =)
Neil's mom and dad went with us so Mimi took the girls to the field next door to investigate the hay rolls!
So cute!
Mimi and Claire using their muscles!
Couldn't resist these two pics of our cutie pa-tootie!
Peek-a-boo!
A few days later it was off to Kerrville for lunch with Maw Maw Springer! We went to eat some Chinese cuisine, visited the art museum and strolled a bit downtown. Can't wait to go picnic by the river when the weather gets nicer in the spring!
We are so blessed to have family live so close. Being a military family growing up, we ended up far from our extended family so I didn't even know what it was like to be around my grandmothers, aunts, uncles, cousins - I don't ever want to take for granted what a blessing it is to be just a drive away. We need to make the commitment to visit them more often!
