Today our Sweet Pea turns four. Four?!? How did that happen?
The day we welcomed her to the world was both one of the happiest and scariest days. We are forever grateful to the NICU nurses and doctors...but, most importantly, to our God who is our Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals. Our story could have been different and we don't take her health for granted.
She has filled our days with an endless storehouse of memories. We can hardly imagine our lives before she arrived. She is permanent piece of our lives and we wouldn't have it any other way.
She is quite the little chatterbox and still loves to entertain us with her musical compositions. She is always eager to tell daddy all about our day, talking his ear off the moment he walks in the door from work. Sometimes, she talks so much and so fast, we have to ask her to slow down and give us all a break!
We love seeing her personality develop. She has the most tender heart, displayed when she cried and cried right along with her brother as daddy tried to get out a sliver on the bottom of his foot. She rushed to his side the moment the sliver was out and ordered us to give him a bandaid to make him feel better. She hugged him tight and wouldn't rest until his crying stopped.
She is very particular about what she wants, declaring she won't wear that shirt with those pants because they don't match or insisting she wear princess shoes to ride her bike. As much as she loves her brother, she also loves to be in charge. Imaginary play is often initiated by her...and ended the moment he decides he wants to do things his way instead of her way.
She understands more than we often give her credit for. She knows she is going to have a baby brother and that he is growing in mommy's belly. She reminds me we will have to go to the hospital to have him and she has already declared that she wants to hold him and give him kisses. Every night before bed, the kids both make sure to hug and kiss my belly and say goodnight to their little brother.
She understands sickness and death more than any four year old should have to know. She still talks about her great pappi and great mommy and, after retelling a story, she reminds me they got sick and died. She knows the sadness that comes from saying goodbye, but she also knows that there is a God who hears our prayers and heals our hurts. "Mommy, we pray to God to feel better?" she reminds me often when the burdens of sick and hurting loved ones weighs us down.
She is very much a girlie-girl. She loves all things princess and pink. She believes that a girl can never have too many shoes (something she certainly didn't learn from me!) and loves to coordinate her clothes with hair accessories and jewelry. She tells me how she wants her hair done each day and what clothes she wants to wear.
We look forward to watching her story continue to unfold...but we also wish we could slow down time, because all too soon she will be spreading her wings and leaving this nest. For now, we are going to hold on tight and enjoy the ride!
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