Grace Elizabeth – 14 hours old – November 15, 2004

Grace Elizabeth on a recent Mommy-Daughter date

My dearest Grace,

Five years ago, I had the longest, most painful experience of my life. When I (finally) went into labor for you, I was so excited to be a mommy, so excited to meet you, so excited to find out if you were a boy or a girl. And then you took 44 hours of labor to arrive!

Your first hours are a blur to me. I was completely out of it, and you were taken to the nursery for the first whole night. I cried for you. All those months of carrying you, all those hours of laboring for you, and I couldn’t hold you in my arms!

But, my sweet girl, it was all more than worth it. I sure didn’t know just how much my life would change with your arrival, and yet, in so many ways you have made life so much better.

You have made me grow and change in ways that I would not have if God had given us our own way and allowed us to wait longer to have babies. You have challenged every area of my life. You have made me examine my beliefs and my actions, because all of these things will affect you.

Grace, you are a very smart girl. I am so proud of how quickly you are learning your homeschool work. I love the way you love to learn, and I love being your teacher!

I love your giggle. It doesn’t come out as often as it did when you were a toddler, but I love hearing it every time! It’s usually when something strikes you as funny. Like yesterday morning when you climbed up Daddy’s legs, flipped over, and then when you stood up your head got stuck under Daddy’s shirt! And we were graced with your beautiful giggle!

I love how you love to encourage others. You are always ready to color a picture or make a card for someone that is sick or sad…or even just for someone you’re thinking of! I pray that you will always have a generous, encouraging heart!

I love that you made a commitment this year to let Jesus be in charge of your life. It was the best decision you will ever make, and I pray that you will always remember that you are one of God’s children.

I love how brave you are with your diabetes. Life changed a lot for you when you were diagnosed. You had to face challenges that many four-year-olds never do. And you faced them. You now test your own blood sugar, and you take shots like a champ. You are always understanding when other kids are eating snacks or treats, and you can’t have them unless you get another shot to cover the carbs. You have never once thrown a fit or pouted about being “limited” in what you can eat without taking a shot. You will be on your pump soon (maybe next week!), and even though some parts are scary to you, you are still so brave!

I love how helpful you are. Whenever I need a helper, you are so willing to volunteer. I love it that you will fold laundry, empty the dishwasher, and make your own bed. Those things are so helpful to me! You are a very responsible little girl.

Grace, you are a beautiful, sweet, wonderful daughter to us, and sister to Caleb, Ava, and Jaden. I thank God for you every day!

Love always,
Mommy

Wow – it’s been so long since I’ve blogged consistently. I hardly know where to begin! Honestly, the break has been refreshing, and I’m not even sure I’m ready to be done with my vacation from blogging. Adding baby #4 to our family hasn’t been so hard emotionally or physically. It’s just SO BUSY! Add homeschooling to that, and I feel like I’m constantly running! (Except right now – I’m sitting on the couch with my feet up, typing on my laptop.)

So, you can take the title of this post as you want – either “long-overdue” or “long and overdue,” because they’re both pretty much true.

So, we’ll start with darling Gracie…

A lot has been happening in Grace’s world this month. First, I cut her hair. Here it is before:

And after:
She looks 35 to me.

And the next big thing in her life is homeschooling! We originally planned to homeschool, as you may or may not remember from our Christmas letter last year. And then I got really overwhelmed thinking about trying to homeschool with a nursing newborn, so we decided to send her to the local public elementary school. I basically told God that I wasn’t planning to homeschool, so please change my heart if I should…And He did! As the time for school neared, something changed in my heart, and we decided to give it a go this year. We’re taking it one year at a time, and it’s still true that I’m a little overwhelmed with the responsibility of it all. But I’m also loving it. It’s so fun for me to have my own little classroom at home, and to be able to see Grace (and Caleb) learn new things. And I’m really hoping I can’t mess them up too bad, since it’s only kindergarten!

Here’s Grace on her first day of school, with her Bible story coloring book:

Moving on…

Yesterday was my birthday, and it was a GREAT day! The Lord has blessed me (and my family) so much above what I deserve.

My wonderful hubby took me out on a date to Bennigan’s and the fireworks at Celebration on the Grand. It was a nice, relaxing evening. And how many people get fireworks on their birthday?! (Well, besides all the July 4th babies out there!)

Part of Luke’s present to me is the promise to clean the house, including dusting; vacuuming; scrubbing counters, sinks, toilets, showers, baseboards, doors, windows, and blinds; mopping the kitchen, hall, and bathroom floors; and helping with the basement organization. WOWSERS! This is JUST what I wanted for my birthday. Thank you, love!

Here’s a snap of us waiting for the fireworks to begin (Jaden went on our date with us):

Okay, there’s so much more I could share, but I must sign off. I trust that everyone is having a great beginning to the school year!