Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Seven year old sweetness!

Lila turned seven on November 27th. SEVEN!! I can hardly believe it. I distinctly remember the days when I wondered if I would have a babe of my own and now I wonder how that squishy, sweet, baby of mine turned into my little friend.

Her cake request… “Can you make a Seven??”2011-11-27 decorating christmas 059

Yesterday I was talking to her and I paused for a second to look into those beautiful big eyes of hers. I was struck with how many days go by when I fail to actually look into her eyes or snuggle her in my arms.

2010-02-05 024

At that moment I stopped and asked her if she knew how much I wanted her. How much I had dreamed and prayed and wanted HER! She lit up as we talked and I made a mental note to remind each of those babies of mine how much I want them in my life.

I was looking through the pictures on my phone recently and noticed a trend. I have several spontaneous moments of Lila taking care of Alex. I find this especially funny because he has recently taken to dragging her around and calling her “Mommy”. She grins and loves every second of it. (It reminds me of my relationship with my baby brother and makes me miss him!)


2011-12-08 047

2012-01-08 006

2011-11-26 gingerbread houses 031

Sweet. That is my Lila.

She is always ready to help, frequently without being asked. She begs to fold laundry and then asks if she can put all 10 loads of it away. She is loving and kind to her brothers and sister. Frequently one of them will demand a chair or a book or whatever the moment holds and without fail, Lila will give up whatever she has to make them happy.

lilasoccer

The other day I was feeling sick with a bad headache. I picked up the kids from school and was so nauseous that I went straight to my bed. As I lay there I was overwhelmed with what I heard going on downstairs. In a perfect (and humbling) imitation of me, she said “ok. If you want a snack raise your hand…” and she proceeded to fix 4 little snacks, play games with the kids and quietly entertain them for hours while I rested. She even got them all cereal for dinner (which, to be honest is about all I regularly pull off for dinner!) I felt so blessed and so lucky to have such a sweet girl who could take care of things when I couldn't.

Sure love that girl of mine. I am proud of the little lady she is growing up to be. Happy (super late) birthday Lila Bean. I hope life gives you everything you wish for!!

2011-11-27 decorating christmas 047

9 comments:

Jan Haws said...

She is so big and pretty. She reminds me of you,my special little friend. I love those memories, Lila, and you

EmmaLee said...

It is kind of making me really sad to see how grown up she looks. We so miss you guys. P.S. We finally got an appointment at a fertility clinic (unfortunately not until March) but we should totally talk sometime!

Mindy said...

What a sweet little lady! We miss you guys and hopefully we will see you soon. Give Lila a big hug for us!

katieo said...

oh this made me cry!


thanks for sharing!! :)

The Arbuckle's said...

Such the sweetest post on Lila. She is amazing, I wish i had an older sister like that. Or I wish I had an older child like her. What a beautiful girl!

Shay said...

This post just gave me the chills! What a sweet little girl she is. I'm so glad you have a little helper. I'm getting off to computer now to go and stare into my children's eyes and tell them how much I love them. Thanks for the reminder!
Love you Em! I hope you are feeling better!

Cassi said...

not sure why I am crying....maybe because I love Lila too and can't help but think of Cameron when I see her. She is such a sweetie. You are such a good mom and your kids show it!

Chandler Family said...

What a beautiful Mommy you are! That's all I can think to say about this precious post. I love you for your Christlike example Em.

Bryan and Amanda Russ said...

Loving Lila and you, sweet Em. I love the reminder to look in their eyes too, way too many days go by that "things" get done, but not always the most important ones. Love and miss you all