My Five Year-Old

Elizabeth is 5. Those 5 years sure flew by. I look back and think, "Wow, a lot has happened since that day she was born" but it still doesn't seem like that long ago.

I was such a kid when I had her. My family is probably laughing at that because I'm still a kid to them, and I am in a lot of ways. But still, I really didn't know much back then. I had no idea what it would mean to be a mother. What would be required of me. What I would be capable of doing. The person that I would become by doing those things day after day.

I didn't even really understand that things don't always go how we have planned. Elizabeth's birth helped me to learn that lesson powerfully. Of course, I still have to re-learn that lesson over and over again.

Sorry, I re-post this picture all of the time but it's good for me to remember:

I especially had no concept of the unbelievable joy that can come from being a mother. I say "can come" because it's not always automatic. Motherhood is made up of so many mundane tasks, and so little credit is given for the completion of those tasks that it can feel downright frustrating and, to be completely honest, joy-less at times. It's at those times when I'm stretched the most. Am I going to humble myself and pray for help and an understanding of what I need to do, or am I going to wallow in self-pity? Whenever I have chosen the first option, the comfort and blessings I receive are automatic. I know that this scripture is true:

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." (Revelations 3:20)

So, the challenge is hearing His voice through the Spirit and obeying, even if it's hard or if it means letting go of our own pride to do so. Being a mother has taught me this and so much more. Yet, I can recognize how little I know even now.

Wow, I got off on a tangent :). My daughter is 5 and what an amazing 5-year-old she is. Here are some updates on her:

-She loves to learn. She asks all sorts of questions and really wants to know the answers. She is an amazing reader and I think can read pretty much anything. She does get intimidated at times, though, and wants me to help her. She can spell and write really well. For a long time she pretty much refused to try and write lowercase letters. Just lately, she sat down and worked hard practicing the ones she has a hard time with and wrote out her name in lowercase letters perfectly. I was going to scan it in but we lost it somehow. She is very excited, and a teensy bit nervous, about starting kindergarten in the fall.

-She is still such a happy girl with an infectious laugh. As proof of this, just the other night she got Nathaniel to laugh more than he ever has before. It was real, sustained laughter. She was just smiling at him to get him to smile back and then he would break out into a big grin. She thought that was so funny so she would burst out laughing and then he would start laughing, too. It was really cute. They went on this way for probably 15 minutes. It makes me smile just thinking about it. Elizabeth brings so much joy and laughter to our home.

Here she is with the boy:

-She can be quite stubborn. As proof of this, I will show you where she is as I write this:

It's probably hard to tell, but she is asleep in our coat closet. That's my winter coat that she's using as a blanket. For some reason, she decided that she wanted to have her quiet time in a closet today. We've used this as a threat in the past when the girls just keep coming out of their room at night or won't go to sleep. We said we'd make the offending child a bed in one of the closets. So much for that threat now, I guess. I kept asking her if she was sure she wanted to. I told her it was dark and probably scary in there but nope, she walked right in and I shut the door. I thought for sure she would be out in 5 minutes at the most. Then, about 15 minutes later I checked on her and found her like that. She hasn't taken a nap in who knows how long but I guess she was tired today...and looking for a nice dark place to sleep :).

-She is so social and loves to talk, especially to her friends. Last night we learned she can be quite the phone talker, too. She was on the phone with her Grandpa Tom to say happy birthday and ended up talking to him for a long time. It was really cute to watch her. She ended up on the floor behind the chairs balancing the phone on her ear while she talked. I couldn't help but picture her doing the same thing as a teenager.

I love this girl so much. What a blessing it is to be her mom.