My Amazing Firstborn!

Sydney Rae started her first day of third grade last week, and as always I am a little sad. She had a great week, "spectacular" was the term she used to describe it, but for me it just means she is growing up. It seems like with Sydney I couldn't wait for her to hit that next milestone, grow that next inch. I didn't really sit back and appreciate each stage as it came with her, because I was always so excited for the next one. Now I regret that. I am sure that every mother in existence has all kinds of regrets when it comes to their children, but please bear with me as I lament a little about mine!

We have taken the time to cherish the little things with the twins, and they have stayed little for so long. I think knowing they were my last gave me the desire to really hold on to their baby and toddler years, which in some cases was priceless, and in others just silly and prolonged :) So far with them my biggest sadness was only being able to rock them to sleep a handful of times because there are two of them and it simply wasn't going to be feasible very often. So far. With my Sydney I am constantly worried I haven't done right by her, that there may be something I missed, some opportunity I passed up. She is such an amazing person, this little girl that is growing up so fast. Her heart is so strong and kind, and she has such an amazing and childlike faith in God, that sometimes I am in awe of her. She will be a far better woman than I am, thank goodness.

Yesterday we were talking about a girl in her class that is sometimes mean for what seems to be no reason. I asked Sydney what she did when the girl was rude to her. She said, " Mom, I figured the best thing to do was just be quiet and walk away, because when someone is mean for no reason, there is ALWAYS a reason, and maybe she just needs attention from her parents, or a friend. We should pray for her." Now I have tried to teach her about people and the reasons they do things, but at 8 to have actively applied it at school was pretty impressive. I was so proud of her, and so very, very thankful she has God in her heart. That girl has had a grasp of Jesus that has taken me 29 years to build since the day she could communicate it, and yet still she surprises me with it. She makes me want to be a better person. I love my girl!!