Building a fortress around her.

Raising a little girl is an incredible job. From the moment her precious eyes can view the world, she is bombarded by images and ideas of who she should be. She will wish to be taller, she will wish to be thinner. She may dream of having curly hair, unless her hair is curly, in which case she will see beauty in straight locks. Maybe she will hear a song about a beautiful brown eyed girl and begin to dislike her own sparkly blue eyes. Chances are, she will see a movie at some point in her very young life that makes her believe that if only she were the most beautiful girl in the world, she would be sought after by the perfect prince. She will no doubt come across an advertisement that awakens a deep desire to be seen as sexy (even if she doesn't really know what that means) and she will know somewhere in her heart that she will never achieve that level of perfection. It's just the way it is... or is it? Is it possible that she can find freedom from all those thoughts, feelings and pressures? I truly believe she can.

She can be told that she is precious. That she is whole. That she IS royalty, she is the daughter of the very creator of all that exists and she is overwhelmingly beautiful.

3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 4 Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. 5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. 

1 Peter 3:3-5

My husband and I have one daughter. I must confess that after having two sons, I was certain that I was meant to raise all boys! Until I held her. I touched her sweet face. I will never forget the look on my husbands face as he held her. There was an instant, unspoken agreement- we would not be letting the world define her beauty. We can't keep her in a bubble or lock her in a tower, but we can build a fortress of truth around her. One that will not be destroyed by the continuous flood of lies. 

Our girl is like many girls, she loves all things pink. She loves ballerinas, princesses and would live happily in a tutu all the days of her life. She leaps and twirls and sweetly brushes the hair out of her eyes and will ask, "Daddy, am I fancy? Am I beautiful?" He will oooh and aaah! He will spin her around and then I will hear him quietly tell her what I've heard him say time and time again, "You are so precious. You are beautiful. But it's not your fancy clothes, it's not your sparkly shoes, it's not your hair. It's YOU. God made you." I happened to snap a picture of one of those very moments...

And another brick is placed onto the fortress of truth. 

I am not naive. I know that she will experience moments of feeling inadequate in her lifetime, but I believe that her heart will seek refuge in her fortress of truth, the place where she goes to be reminded.

I got ready for a date with my husband recently and my little girl reached for my face to whisper to me (as she often does), and she said, "mommy, you look beautiful. But it's not your fancy hair, it's not your lip gloss- it's you."

So dear reader and friend, if no one has told you- if no one has whispered to you... You are so very precious. You are worthy. You are adored. You are beautiful. BUT it's not your hair, it's not your fancy clothes, it's not the makeup upon your face. It's YOU. 

Lessons from my Heavenly Father

He's here! Our baby boy is here and he's perfect. He's sweet and easy-going. He is a mini-me copy of his brothers and he is a gift. He was created by my Heavenly Father and with this baby comes more lessons in life, in family, in Grace, in Beauty, and an understanding of HIS love.

My blogging is pitiful! I want to blog every day, but can't seem to get it done! LOL But every now and then I have a minute to type and I want to use this minute to tell you that you are so special. You were created by God and you are loved more deeply than you can imagine. That is the truth. No matter who you are and what's going on in your life, you are a child of God and He loves His children with a fierce and mighty Love. I am so amazed by the love I have for each of my children and it knocks me off my feet as I hold this new baby and hug my "big" kids. Thank you, Lord for giving me a glimpse into Your heart and Your great Love. I am humbled.

I hear you!

There are times in my life when I find myself saying, "Lord, Ican't hear you! I need you and I can't hear you!!"

I know He's there. I know He is on control. Yet, I panic when I have to be still and wait. Lately, the Lord has been answering some long awaited prayers for us and we're just about speechless by the path he's laying out for us. Down to the little things.

As I was coming home from a photo shoot the other day I found this...

The chalk drawing was made by my middle son and myself and it's a picture of Grammy... the heart shaped leaf however, was placed there by God. I find myself noticing His love notes to me. I stopped, dropped everything in my hands and was so glad to have my camera on my shoulder! I snapped this pic and smiled. I love you, Lord. Thank you for loving me so much.

This photo session got me thinking!

J&A engagement photo:

I had an engagement session today with a gorgeous couple. Young, beautiful and so in love! It reminded me of what it felt like to be engaged and the excitement! You know that time in life where you feel like you're floating in a bubble! A love bubble that only the two of you live in?? It also reminded me of the advice we got... some good, some bad. I remember people saying that the first year is awful, so much to adjust to, so difficult. We were constantly warned about getting married young... "can't you wait till you get done with college?!" "You're just so young! It will be hard!"

It scared me... not enough to wait on marrying the love of my life, but still! I remember a guy cracking jokes about how all the romance and fun is gone the minute you get married and even worse when you have kids. Some of the worst advice we got was from people from church and fellow believers. I think people's intentions are good... hopefully.

But the truth is this: (and I told this to J&A from the photo session) It DOESN'T HAVE to be that way. Marriage is tough, it's also AMAZING!! It's fun and silly and intimate and romantic (yes even after kids people!) It's sweet and safe and should be kept that way.

So, my advice to J&A is this, Seek your Heavenly Father, seek him FIRST. Share the love you have for the Lord with each other, passionately! Be kind (even when you argue... I'm not good at this but I want to be), LAUGH whenever you can, every day. Write each other love notes, even when he/she is only in the next room.

And tell those who want to give you their marriage horror stories to stay out of your love bubble!!! Just make sure that you include the Lord in there too! (that way no one can pop it!)

Where did all the Girliness come from???

I was sure that I would have all boys. I was good with that! I love boys! I love the roughness, the naughtiness, the bravery, and so on.

So, when we went for a sonogram with our 3rd pregnancy I was floored when the tech said, "That is definitely a baby girl!" It's not that I was sad, just stunned. Then my husband leaned down and whispered, "That's it. You're homeschooling." HAHA! He was already having visions of our little beauty and the boy trouble to come.

So, here she is. One year old and just about the girliest little thing you've ever seen. She's dainty, she's sassy, and she's fabulous.

I love her.

Can it get any more girlie than checking your weight? ;-)

My SUPERMAN and his Birthday

My hubby's birthday is this week and it makes me want to sing and dance! He is AMAZING. He loves me. Like for real. Loves me when I'm grouchy, when I'm not looking so hot, when I'm being a nut... doesn't matter. He loves me. All the time. He's my best friend, my prince charming.

He is an amazing father. Like the kind of guy who plays superheros for hours, chases them when he's exhausted, plays tea party with our little girl, and loves them unconditionally.
He's crazy Hot too. Gets more attractive to me by the minute. I love his strong arms, beautiful eyes and pretty much everything else! And he's all mine! ;-)

So hubby, Happy Birthday. It's one of the best days of the whole year. I literally praise God for the day you were born and the man that you are. I love you more than I can say.

Really... too busy to say Hi????

My four year old is sweet. He's tender-hearted and genuinely LOVES everyone. It's possible he's even inherited my "MUST HUG EVERYONE" disease. Anyway, when we're at the store or anywhere for that matter, he tells EVERYONE near him, "Hi!" Usually followed by his name, age and any other information he can think of. (which is why I have not taught him our home address yet, LOL)

So, it PEEVES me when people ignore him. Seriously, lady are you so busy choosing your new nail color that you can't give him a smile or a wave? It always shocks me how many people walk right past his smiling, friendly face and go on about their day. It's hard explaining to a kid why some people are too busy to say hi. Or too busy to give a quick smile.

On the other side, I love the people who not only say hello, but take the time to SEE him. Maybe shake his hand (which an older man did the other day and he's still talking about it), sometimes people are so happy to talk that eventually I have to say, "It was so nice meeting you! We better get going!" Although, truth be told, usually I could stand there and talk as long as we can. I love people. My kids love people. Jesus loves you, just so you know... even if you're a snotty looking lady who doesn't think children should be allowed in the grocery store. I love you anyway and some day there is a good chance that I'm going to tackle you, snuggle you and help you pick out your nail polish.... because I love you.... so there.