Big Plans - Sweetpea Style

I wanted to share with you some photos from our day of preparation for Sweetpea's dedication at church. This was such a sweet day for my daughter and I and I got to see dimensions emerge from her that I had not seen before.

The oldest buttons returned last night from a party with these curlers in their hair. Thus, it follows that this morning the littlest buttons would want curlers in their hair as well. When the older girls took theirs out and sported their curls curl envy was born and they blessed their little sisters heart's by doing their hair up too.

My Sweetpea and I spent some cuddle time together talking about what it meant to be dedicated as this was a totally foreign concept to her. She liked the part where she got to pick the dresses and that we are to have a big dinner to celebrate after church. The dresses were the easy part for her, she knew immediately what she wanted.....to match her sisters! Then we got down to business to plan the dinner together. She really got into this hostessing thing.

She had very specific ideas of what she wanted on the menu for the dinner. I was impressed that things came out pretty balanced. Having never given her the power of the pen before to craft the menu I was pleased to see more than just sweets listed, ham was pretty prominent. I love her little lefty pinky that sticks out when she writes, it's so adorable.

There were of coarse some negotiations during the planning. She wanted to invite the world and I had to tell her that we had only one ham and a large family already so she was going to have one guest. She has become a social girl with a lot of friends. She has gone from thinking that the world is a threatening place and people are enemies to being able to seek out her special people and create ongoing relationships with them. They are not yet deep and true relationships yet but they are on the continuum now at least.

I love this angel face. I love that I get to paint her finger nails and toe nails and that it makes her feel all girlie girlie. She used to peel those nails off ridiculously harsh and the ends of the fingers were raw most of the time. I know that it was a reflection of the inner turmoil but now she has allowed them to grow. They have been quietly celebrated by her sisters who either want them and don't have them because they too are gnawers or have them and get to adorn them with light polish and wish others to match. Today she got them polished and it was a golden moment.

I can't believe today is our six month-aversary of having Sweetpea in our family. It has been an astounding six months. While it has not been easy she amazes me at how rapidly she has changed. She is a sponge for love and has flourished in this wild, crazy atmosphere we call life in our household. Her very face is changing and I don't just mean all those missing teeth are finally growing in either!

I love how she is growing in all facets of life. Because she isn't spending all her time surviving she has a lot more time for deeper thinking and has gotten to be reflective and a great one to hold conversations with about the big things in life. She will normally spring these large ponderings upon me during moments of cuddling when she is feeling safe and we are being quiet. I want to be able to make time to always hear what is on her heart, even if it takes her a while to get it out.

This is the face of love. I love this photo of her because she is so unguarded and so content just to be with me and do this silly planning thing. There is trust in these eyes. Trust that even though she has not a clue of what will happen tomorrow at church during this "dedication" she will be safe and fine because I am her mother and I will make it so. I look at this face and I feel so blessed by God.