the power of an old red shirt.

I remember buying Luke this shirt. I put it in his Daddy survival kit just before Madelyn was born. When he put it on the day that she was born, I never would have dreamed that nearly four years later Madelyn would look this cute dancing around our living room in it!

I never would have dreamed that her laughter would literally fill our house

or that she would be so precocious, full of wit, charm and silliness.

If you told me that the little girl we met for the first time that day nearly four years ago, whose chest was pounding so fast that my eyes could not count the beats no matter how hard I tried, would be dancing through the living room singing, "My God is not dead, He is surely alive" at the top of her lungs in the same shirt that her daddy first held her in, I am not sure I would have believed you.

Tonight, after a day where her sassy little three year old personality almost made me crazy, I am immensely grateful for the way this worn out, red super hero shirt brought me to a place of humble thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving for this spunky girl who inspires me to enjoy the ins and outs of daily life more.

Thanksgiving for her health.

Thanksgiving for her thoughtful ways.

Thanksgiving for the way she loves unconditionally.

I am indescribably thankful to be Madelyn's mom.

Carefree and Three

The weather has been so nice considering it is July in Texas! We have taken full advantage of the amazing and unseasonably cool temperatures and enjoyed time outside. This morning MK and I took  one of her friends with us to our neighborhood park and made a morning out of it.

The girls played for hours, ate lunch and then played some more.

As I watched these four legs dangle from the bench as they munched on their raisins, I could not hold back a grin that stretched across my face. Someday all too soon these feet will take MK to school, then her first dance and to her first driving lesson. It is no secret that time speeds up when a child enters your life, and as much as I cringe at the thought of my sweet girl growing up, I am thankful that today she got to be three. She was able to play in the dirt, run across bridges, giggle as she hid from a friend during a game of hide and seek and just be three.

Some days I forget that she is only three years old. In one breath I can wish for time to stand still and then in the next expect Madelyn to act like a little adult. No whining. No talking too loud. Share with friends. And on and on. Sometimes I expect her to do all the right things at all the rights times and then I am surprised when she doesn't meet those expectations. Then today, as I watched her play with her friends at the park, I was reminded that she really is only three. Time passes too quickly to not just let her be carefree and three!

He Adores You

Dear MK,
You have the most awesome daddy! This morning he took you to the Discovery Science Place while I did some things around the house. Gigi and Papa got you a membership for Christmas and we have definitely made good use of it!

I love that your daddy loves to spend time with you. Every chance he gets, he takes you to do something fun!

He adores you, sweet girl, and that fills my heart with joy.

I know the two of you had a great time together because you came running through the door after your date talking so fast that my brain could hardly keep up.

I could not possibly count the number of Daddy/Daughter dates that the two of you have been on. One thing I do know is that you are so very loved. You are so deeply loved by the greatest man I have ever known and I hope that you always know that.

Love you sweet girl,
Mommy

Simple Summer Nights

I was never really a huge fan of summer. Pretty much the moment that summer did not equal instant freedom, I was over it. That all seemed to change when Madelyn entered our lives.

I remember the first summer after she was born, it was as if summer time was magic. The days were longer. We would sit outside for hours and just enjoy each other.

Simple summer nights on the front porch are my favorite these days.

Listening to this girl laugh, watching her play and just being together is the very best.

Coming home from the grocery store to MK running through the sprinkler with her fishing pole in hand  and amazing Daddy watching her play make me grateful for simple summer nights.

Each night brings with it a renewal and it feels so good.

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.” 
-F. Scott Fitzgerald