Sweet Sparkly Toes

This past weekend I was given the rare privilege of taking my oldest daughter, Rae, on a Mommy and Me date. She had said earlier in the week, "Momma, can just me and you spend some time together doing fun stuff?" How could I say no, right? She decided on a pedicure and shopping, that's my girl! Mind you she is only 5.

The pedicure salon had those big chairs that massage your back. Rae was so excited and after much thought and consideration she picked a light silver glittery color. She hopped up in that big chair and her feet barely reached past the edge. She scooted all the way up just so she could dip her toes into the warm soapy water. I sat down next to her and my heart melted as I thought about the last time my sweet girl sat in a pedicure chair. It was when I was 9 months pregnant with her. She kept giggling and smiling. She could not contain her excitement. I watched as she wiggled her tiny toes and looked with intent eyes as the man filed her miniature toenails. Her long blond hair spilled over her shoulders and strand in her eyes. She pushed it back behind her ear and I noticed what a beautiful young lady she was becoming.

How did we get here so fast? It seems like yesterday that I dressed her in a little pink onesie and brought her home from the hospital. It is astonishing to me that we do not understand the love of a mother until we are in those very shoes. I wondered if she, in fact, knew how proud I was of her or that everyday...just by her actions...she teaches me more about life than any other person has. As parents, we are to "train up a child in the way." (Proverbs 22:6) That is not to be taken lightly. I recently read an article about a women's security and how easily we give it up. That we are not grounded and confident in the image that we have been created. To be honest, I know exactly how that feels. I am insecure in myself...in more ways that one actually. Shoot, this blog barely made it through the beginning stages because I thought "there is no value to what I am writing, no one will want to read this, and if they do they will think I am weird." Thanks to my sweet husband and a few family member's encouragement I realized that I was writing for me...no one else's opinion matters really. What I hadn't thought about was that my insecurity had caused me to lose dignity in some cases and was inadvertently effecting my girls. That isn't who I want to raise. I don't want them to be a scared wall flower, I want them to be God-fearing, strong, confident, secure, dignified women. But the secret lies with in me and what God is creating me to be right in front of their eyes. It is my job as a mother to not only teach them about the image in which they were created, but also to show them. Actions speak louder than words right?

Photography is one of my favorite past times and a friend recently asked what inspires me. I though "I have no idea, nothing I guess." I keep thinking about that...nothing inspires me? Really!? NO! That is not true at all. My favorite subjects are children and families. Not the posey cheeseball pictures that you can have taken at SEARS...the pictures that you get when no one is looking. Sisters playing, a mom and her son reading a book, a husband and wife lost in admiring their newborn. Those are the pictures that you look back on and feel the exact way you felt that day. My children inspire this in me. I see them everyday all day and sometimes after I have put them to bed I realize that I didn't really look at them at all that day. I was lost in chaos and never took a second to watch them and burn it into my memory what they look like at this stage. Those are the pictures I want to take...the type that remind you of a treasured moment that you didn't realize you had forgotten. At the pedicure place, I was thankful that even though I didn't have my camera, I had taken the time to pay attention to the details of Rae and that day. What was just a day with Mommy for her became an eye opener for me and a pathway for me to take notice of the little things and to show her what security and confidence felt like.




As I sit here and write this, Rae is at school and Addie Grace is sitting on the floor with a magnetic doodle pro on her lap. It takes up the whole space between her tummy and her feet! She caught me looking at her and said to me, "Mommy? You look bootiful. I yike yowr shiwrt."
"Thanks Addie Grace. You are beautiful too."
She colored this big blob on the doodle pro and asked if I "yiked" it. I told her it was wonderful and her face lit up. There it is...a confident secure 2 year old smile. My job? To help keep it on her face for years to come.

My goal is that everyday my sweet girls go to bed knowing that they have a God, a mom (and a dad...no slight to him!) that believes in them and who loves them no string attached. We all can carve out some time for that right?