Momma Much

I will never forget holding Brielle when she was a tiny baby, and sobbing. Sobbing sobbing sobbing.

How could I be expected to be okay with her growing up? From stage to stage, year to year, changing and evolving. I would in essence lose the little person I was holding and loving so deeply right then and there.

Eventually I stopped sobbing and did the only thing I could think of. I prayed to God to help me be strong enough to watch her grow up. Not only to be strong enough, but to be joyful and excited as I saw her grow and change.

Newborns change so quickly, and my answer to prayer was swift and powerful. I remember a feeling of super-natural peace when I realized WOW, Brielle has changed so much in the last six months.. and wow, I love her so much more now than I did then.

Every new stage and developmental jump brought with it a pain in my chest and a diligence to pray again. God help me be strong enough to watch her grow. The pain in my chest would evaporate and I would be left with the excitement and wonder of what my little girl was becoming.

It’s here again. That deep thick ache in my chest reminding me that time is limited. She’s turning seven and won’t be my little girl forever. There will be a time when I’ll be sitting in this house (or another house) and I won’t hear her high-pitched shrieks of joy or see her quiet concentration as she tediously works on her craft projects. My little girl will be gone, only existing in pictures and dreams. And lots and lots of videos.

In my little girl’s place will be a woman. And she will be beautiful. Her spirit will be kind and she will fight for the underdog. She will be joyful with a deep sense of purpose and love. She will want to do what is right even when no one is looking. She will be so smart. So thoughtful. So incredibly blessed. And she will nurture and cherish her little girl within, and she’ll encourage me to do the same.

And I will love her so much more then than I do now.

Right now my almost seven year old is into so many things. But there are a few things she absolutely loves:

The library! We recently discovered Hank The Cowdog audio books and they are so fun!!

Piano! She had her first recital when she was six. Michael was so supportive and sweet!

Speaking of Michael, she loves that boy. I can’t handle the cuteness.






And her cousin… They are “horse girls” together. 🙂


And oh how she loves her daddy.

    

She loves homeschool.


Most of the time. 😀

I love being able to fill her up. It fills ME up!

She has a thing for dressing up her dolls to match her outfits. It’s so creative!

This is the year they grew out of the Whole Foods shopping car. Sob.

So proud of herself, on the way to ACTs co-op… and FIRST GRADE.

Some days she looks waaaaay older than 7. And some days she looks (and acts) like she’s four. Here she looks 12.

And here she just looks adorable.

We did her makeup for real one afternoon and Brenden freaked out when he saw it. It took me the rest of the day to make sure her little heart understood that her beauty was inside her. Yes, she looked gorgeous with this makeup on, but what mattered was what was underneath. She is beautiful inside and out! She didn’t want to take it off. Needless to say she’s been au naturel ever since.

She loves God and sing worship songs constantly. She had communion with us for the first time last week. I explained that the bread and “wine” were to help us remember what Christ did for us. She replied: “Yeah, I already remember it every single day momma.” We love our church and church community! I’m so grateful for the people who come alongside us to help us raise our children in the way of Truth and Life.

She loves pretty things, especially if they are sweet!

She’s so beautiful. I took these pictures as I was changing the sheets on our bed. The lighting and the blues were just too good to resist. They are still some of my favorites, which challenges me to just take the camera out already! 



She’s so creative. Every material thing she sees turns into an opportunity to create!


This is a quilt she made out of toilet paper.

She got her hair cut for the first time when she was six. It was just a trim! It curled up like crazy and at first and we thought “she’s going to have really curly hair!” But then it relaxed back to its wavy normal.


Speaking of hair, her sixth year is when her hair really appeared in all its glory. She was a baldie until she was two! My sister always told me she would have thick hair… She was right!

She loves her family so much. <3 She and Michael scream “FAMILY HUGGGGG!!!” Every time they see Brenden and I hugging. They call to each other, “Run!” and suddenly our two-some hug will be a pile of little arms and legs trying to get as close as possible. I love Family Hug.

She’s the cutest little human I’ve ever seen. She’s worn this dress three summers in a row, and I think she’ll wear it again this year, as a shirt! 
Same with this dress!

Up to this point she’s been my “not-very-athletic” child, but I’m seeing a change! She loves to run on the beach and she’s playing soccer this Spring! And of course swimming like crazy every chance she gets!

Yesterday was her first day of soccer! It was the kind of cold you can’t make up. But she LOVED it, which was a huge change from the last time we tried soccer. Her favorite part was “being on a team!!”

Like I said, it was COLD. 

Her style is so unique. Yesterday I asked “what are you going to wear today?” She yelled from down the hall: “Wait until you see… it’s sooooo cute!” And then she appeared with butterfly printed leggings, a butterfly printed dress tucked into the leggings, and a pair of tight bike shorts over it all. I couldn’t stop hugging her and laughing. She is so amazing. THIS shirt is my personal favorite of her six-year-old clothes. And I found it at a thrift store!

“This is going on my mom’s blog.” <3

She meets new friends wherever she goes. I thought I was social.. she takes it to a different level. I love her enthusiasm!

Little things are big to her.

She spent most of her sixth year asking for a pet for her “very own.” Even though we already have a dog and a cat loitering around. She adopted stink bugs and lady bugs and all kinds of crawly creatures. Here is one of them now. (I just showed her this picture and she said “Oh.. I miss Lucy.”)

Her sixth year is the year she mastered reading. I hold my breath as she flies through the pages and easily reads words like “could” and “mystery” without hesitating. I am fully aware that this is a little braggy, but as a mom who has never homeschooled before, and had legitimate doubts that I could, this makes me very very proud.

And her drawings!! (I love how she depicts Michael as a baby here.. it must have been how she was feeling at the moment…)

Sometimes kid’s finger placement is so weird. 😀 But all in all I think she nailed her portrait of me! <3

Gabrielle Elise Grace your family loves you so much, and more every single day. Happy Birthday big girl, turning seven is huge!
Ahhh… And I just went back and read all her other birthday posts. I’m so so glad I do these! Turning Four, Five, Six.

XOXO