Skip to main content

Grateful for a 12 Year Old Girl

Twelve years ago on October 22, I got to be the mother of an adorable baby girl. She is still adorable and I cannot believe that she has hit that milestone. It has been on my mind since January when we attended New Beginnings, a Young Women's meeting to introduce the girls who will be 12 that year and give a basic plan for the year.   

I have had mixed feelings about this birthday. She graduated from Primary, received her "Faith In God" award, can babysit, thinks she is old enough to wear mascara, plays basketball, is funny, responsible, on the student council at Thunder Ridge Elementary, and just super awesome. It is fun to talk to her. We have more "mature" conversations. Her circle of friends is growing and it is fun to watch them grow up as well. Some of them I have known for almost as long as I have known her, others are new. She is on the quiet side and is not part of most of the drama that goes on among some of the other girls--hooray! She has had her share of hurt feelings, but overall she is not in the thick of things.

Overall I am excited to see what the future holds for her as she continues to grow up. I do, however reminisce with fondness of her child and babyhood and realize with some heartache that there is no going back. I new mantra that I repeat to myself whenever I am feeling melancholy about our ever changing lives is, "Don't be sad it is over, be glad it happened." It gives me a forward thinking perspective and gratitude that the past good times did happen.

I am grateful I get to be her mother. I am grateful for the things she teaches me. She perseveres and truly exemplifies the ability to do "hard things." I am grateful for all that she has learned. I am grateful for her blooming testimony that she expressed today when she wrote in M&M's the words, "Come Unto Christ." She was home from school sick today and she used her Halloween treat to make that declaration then cheerfully shared it with me. I am grateful for the influence of her Primary and school teachers, her grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. I am grateful that I get to include her in my month of gratitude posts!

Happy 12th Birthday, Emma! (belated)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Yesterday we had a "Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad" morning that ended with a Christlike Kindness

Last Saturday morning SHOULD have been an ordinary Saturday morning.  The children have "Saturday chores" that they are required to do before they move on with their day.  There are a few exceptions.  This morning Spencer had an exception because his scout troop led by Destry went on a rock climbing expedition.  It was a gorgeous day!  They had a great time thanks to Destry's former missionary companion and friend, Dallin Ward, who shared his talents and expertise with the group.  Spencer was the star as I was told.   For those of us who stayed behind, it should have been chore time after they left.  They were all playing together nicely for a while and I just let them.  It is fun to see them getting along and playing well.  At around 10:00 I reminded them  to get get started because Emma had her first basketball game of the season and Estelle had a birthday party that both started at 1:00.  That should have been no problem. ...
2 comments
Read more

Responsibilities of the Oldest and Youngest

I began this 9/25/15. I am going to publish it as is. I am sure I had a story for each about each of my children, but I only made it to two. My heart is full of love and joy for the blessing my children are to me. Each one of them are working through their own set of challenges and are blossoming. I came home from work yesterday to find that Spencer had fixed the car. On his own. It was making a weird noise before he left school and he and a friend checked it out and determined that it was an easy fix and that he could drive home with it the way it was, but it should not be driven more than that until it was repaired. He went to the auto parts store and purchased the part and fixed it. Just like that. Wow! How awesome that he is developing the skills and taking the initiative to be responsible for the maintenance of the car he gets to drive. Notice I didn't say "his" car even though he likes to think of it as that. I was so impressed and proud of him for doing that...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dancing into My Heart

My girl, Estelle, has become quite the dancer this past year. She decided to stop taking tumbling and move on to dance classes. This was inspired, in part, by watching the Westlake Dance Company perform at the high school where Spencer was taking some dance classes. She progressed quickly in her tumbling class and is flexible and graceful.  We were too late for her to audition for a team, but I found a studio that would let her compete on their beginning teen team. She enjoyed it, but her skills and her motivation surpassed most of the other members of the team. She learned a contemporary solo dance from a neighbor, Sara Fike. It was a beautiful dance and Estelle placed at every competition, taking second twice and first once. She was told by at least one judge at every competition that she should move up to a different level. Since this was her first year dancing she competed with the beginners. Her tumbling skills definitely helped her. She also learned skills by watching YouTu...
Post a Comment
Read more