Recently, I received the most beautiful challenge from the wonderful world of blogs.  Casey  shared about how lately she has been trying to say "yes" to life, and especially when it comes to her family. 

   I don't know about you, but sometimes "yes" comes a little difficult to me.  When you're bone-tired and your to-do list takes up about 3 pages and the littles want something of you....something that will take time, energy, create messes and require about 10 other things you don't feel like you have it in you to give.  It's easiest to just say no. 

   Especially when it's something they're NOT asking for.  They aren't old enough yet to know to ask me for some quality one-on-one time.  They don't know to ask for story after story after story.  They aren't old enough to beg to go to the park.  And so obviously, it's even easier to say "no" to the things that aren't being asked verbally. I don't have to confront anyone else but me.  I'll just stay home.  I'll just stay inside.  I'll just skip their story.  I'll just play with them later.  I'll just do that another time. 
 
     We may never know all that we miss out on when we say no.  'No' to even the things that aren't being asked of us.  Of course it's more work.  Of course it's more time.  But beautiful memories and moments will rarely fall into our laps unearned.  Life is made up of these small, brief moments, and laundry and cleaning and cooking and yes, even blogging can wait.  All of it can wait if it has to. 
But they can't.
    So saying yes for me yesterday meant throwing that fancy little tea party that I'm always meaning to and always thinking I will do, and of course never really doing.  I kept things pretty simple and threw it together in about 10 minutes.  I just grabbed things from the cupboards, picked a flower from the yard, and I didn't even have real tea.  It was water.  But you would not believe the amount of joyful giggles and squeaks and smiles elicited by a certain young lady by it all.  It was if I had worked for weeks and weeks.  And who knew she knew how to pour tea like a lady already??!  Maybe she's destined to marry William and Kate's little boy someday. 

     Then of course soon after my pride was swelling up inside me, I would find her drinking from the teapot and finding herself quite hilarious and I was a bit relieved to know she was still my silly little girl after all.





   I don't think I'm exaggerating a bit to say that it is the happiest I have ever seen Jocelyn in her short life.  I'm not sure when this started to happen with her, but it's almost impossible to catch a real, genuine smile on camera.  That's why lately almost all of my pictures are of Charlotte.  I bring out the camera, and Jocelyn will refuse to look at me, become very solemn and sober, and I will get lots of her playing and running off with her back turned to me, but very, very few with her smiling.  Not so this time.  I could hardly narrow my selections down to a few.  She was positively glowing the entire time.  She kept throwing her arms around my neck as if I was her absolute hero, and like I said, I took like 10 minutes to prepare.  Sometimes, they don't need elaborate.  They don't need expensive.  They just want you.  



Jocelyn lives for stuff like this. 

Pretty dresses, dainty little snacks, pouring tea.

   She is my little lady at heart, my girly-girl, the princess God gave me when I was expecting a row of rowdy little boys.   The moment she was born and I went through that ring of fire and indescribable, heart-wrenching pain, I lifted my firstborn up to my chest, (true story, I lifted her out!) and after a moment of just drinking it all in and letting the awe of that moment wash over me in wave after crashing wave, I checked to see what the gender was, and strangely....I wasn't surprised.  I say strangely because EVERYONE, and I mean everyone was telling me I was going to have a boy.  They had a feeling, they had a dream, they had an instinct, they could tell by the way I was carrying, blah, blah, blah. People even bought me boy outfits they were so convinced.  But in that moment when I checked, even after all the build-up, I wasn't surprised.  Because when I first glimpsed her, even before I knew, I knew.  She had delicate features and a head full of wavy black hair, I know it isn't hardly possible for an infant 1.5 seconds old to look like a girl, but I promise you she did.  She was just my little lady from the very start.  And I think she always will be.