Gwasa.

Gwacer is her name to me most of the time. You may wonder where it came from. If I tell you you have to promise not to judge. One of my favorite movies of all time is Steel Magnolias. And one of the characters is Weeza, I always loved that for some reason and so I call Grace Gwasa (GWAY-SA) on many occasion. It may be because although she can be sweeter than sweet that can turn to sassier then sass on a dime. Either way I just love this girl more than words lately. She is so much fun...today I missed her so much I couldn't wait to pick her up after school and take her home with me. So that's what I did. We went to the grocery together and sang oldies in the car with the wind in our hair. These are the days I will remember. These are the days I hope she will remember to. Really nothing fancy just time spent being girls, without the boys enjoying each other's company.



I mean really.?!

Happy Birthday My Grace!

That Grace done gone turned 7 on us. I can't say that it totally thrills me. I can say I am amazed by this little beauty everyday. I love the little lady she is growing into. She's a keeper.

This year 7 may seem like just another birthday but for unspoken reasons it needed to be a big one. It needed to be packed full of wonder and surprise and FUN!! And that it was.

We broke some "rules" and had fun doing it. We dined in style, enjoyed our friends and family and had quite the lovely day.

And can I just say once more I just love this girl!! I really do!

I kidnapped her this morning and took her and a friend to American Girl Doll in Lynnwood to do some shopping and have lunch to celebrate the number 7. This is where we broke some rules and I was quite pleased with my girl and her reaction. Grace got an American Girl doll for Christmas a couple of years ago..it was a big deal...it was all she got for Christmas and she has loved that doll beyond compare. The hair is ratty now but no problem Grace loves her all the same. She has never asked for another doll and takes very good care of the one she has...they travel everywhere together. So the Dad suggested the girl get another. This was breaking the rules we had decided at one time that one was special and enough...so when I told Grace today that she could pick any doll she wanted she replied...but I thought I would have only one and she is so special to me. I told her that if she wanted to choose something else she could or she could pick another doll. She picked another doll. She chose Kit...she is so cute. We are a two doll family and we broke our own rules. Graces Grandmas sent birthday money with me for her to pick some extra things out at the store. She spent half of it and told me she thought she would save the rest for another time. I am not sure why but my heart burst with her value in saving and savoring....she didn't get this from me at seven I would have maximized the use of my dollars and spent it all.

It was a good day. I thought that we would ruin her with the second doll. It may seem dramatic but I really did. So I called my mom afterwards and told her I had not created a monster in fact she was a very nice little girl who didn't want for more but was satisfied with what she had. Again I do not take credit. And I am not trying to be boisterous. There are days she does seem very spoiled and ungrateful(I mean she is a kid)....today just wasn't one of them:)



Something you should know about Grace. Although at home and with close family she may seem outspoken and uber confident she is actually quite shy. She hates all attention to be on her. Today at lunch she very nicely asked our waitress not to sing to her like they had for another girl in the restaurant, all on her own without my help. Instead they quietly brought her a cupcake with a candle and discreetly told her Happy Birthday. She was pleased with this.



#2 about Grace. She loves people. She loves friends. She loves social time oh man does she.



Number 3...she love to clean. ANYTHING. Dishes, cabinet fronts, tidying whatever...she loves it and is quite good at it...another thing she does not get from me:)

Quatro...She wanted a cake in the shape of an owl for her birthday????? Thank heavens for pinterest...oh and the RAH she really helped me pull this off!



Number 5- She loves to create....imagination is Graces greatest medium. I love that about her.


She is a pack rat if it is shiny she will find it and hide it. She has tiny boxes full of dinglehoppers and trinkets....that mean nothing to anyone but her.

And lastly you should just know that as much as I hate to see her grow up it is sure a joy to be able to do so.

Grace this year you have blown me away with you ability and drive in school. Your love for your friends and family. Your willingness to help and serve in our home. And just your beauty not only on the outside but on the inside as well. I love you beyond compare my little pink one!! You are everything I could have dreamed of and more in a a daughter and I just love being able to be called your MOM!


Happy Birthday my Sweet Girl!

The story of a kindergartener and a second grader.

That's right I am a mature mom now...what? Oh man I can't believe I am the mother of two school aged children. I have worked so hard for the last seven years to prepare them for the great big world of school and social awareness:) and the day has come that they are both in the great big world of school. Now I guess I can't be so dramatic...no one has ever described Ebenezer as big, it is smaller by design after all:)

So the morning was interesting. I got up at early...and I might add for those of you who don't know I am not a morning person...however school mornings are important. I like everyone to be able to leave the house in the morning with happy hearts and full bellies with a healthy lunch in hand and this is no job for weenies. Now Grace has always been along for the ride on school mornings but she does not need to be ready for the day by any means, basically food has been her only requirement in the past. Well this does not ring true anymore and let me tell you she went through three outfits this morning before she found the perfect one. This is hilarious to me. People say I am in for trouble with this one...believe me I know. She has always been opinionated and thats ok with me as long as she is polite and respectful about it:) So back to the morning...we had a warm breakfast...in the new dining room...I made lunches we had showers, got dressed, put our shoes on and we were out the door with 6 dozen cookies and 2 dozen muffins because I remembered that as Eagle Booster president you provide refreshments for convocation. This whole time it actually seemed fairly natural to get two ready and out the door. Until we got to the Green Barn. When Elliot started kindergarten we made it tradition to pray for him from the Green Barn until the parking lot at school. It has been a fabulous tradition and I encourage anyone who drives their little ones to school to do it. It makes any stressful morning better..I have used as a time to ask God for forgiveness for me for being impatient with my kids- which was so humbling the first time but Elliot actually thanked me for asking for forgiveness which made me cry...I will blog more about this topic later- I also pray for each kid and bless their day. So here we are in the car, I thanked God for our morning for our good nights rest and the sun in the sky and then I prayed for Elliot thanking God for him and his school and praying for his teacher as well and then naturally it was Grace's turn because, well I was dropping her off too. What I am dropping her off too? Insert big lump in my throat, wavering voice and tears flowing down my cheeks here. But we got through it and Grace received her blessing and God received His glory. And the tears subsided and we rolled into school like rock stars with Jesus in our hearts and God on the brain. Because, as I have said before, Ebenezer Christian School is the happiest place on earth!

So enough of the sap....I am sure a lot of you have skipped ahead to see my beautiful children. This year I let them pick out their own first day of school outfits, it saved on drama and increased the cheerfulness. So here it is ENJOY!

Whats In A Name?

When naming your children there is a lot to take into consideration? Do you want to name them after someone, will you go with a theme, Biblical name, Trendy Name etc. For us there were two requirements- 1.It had to mean something...-2.The middle name needed to be a family name. Graces name was picked for sometime. The word Grace has always meant so much to me, and I always wanted my first daughters name to be Grace. I have a lot of other feelings about the name but until now I haven't been able to put them into words.

Recently, my friend Pam, asked me why we had chosen the name Grace. I tried my best to explain my choice but it always comes out sounding sort of cheesy and not very genuine or authentic. She then informed me that her mothers name is actually Grace. She went on to tell me a story of her mom growing up and being the middle child of I think 7 children and went through a time of feeling unimportant and a bit forgotten at times. She said in this time her grandfather had actually written her mother a poem in reflection of her name. She went on to say that the poem would be able to reflect exactly what I was trying to say. Just a couple of days ago Pam's mother Grace shared her Grace Poem with me to save for my Grace.(That's a lot of Graces)

Anyway here it is...it makes me cry, it makes me smile and it is exactly what I had in mind when I chose Graces name!

Grace
You know, Grace, what your name implies-
There's no salvation otherwise;
And ever, as one works or plays
One still depends on gifts of grace.
So Grace, in all you say or do,
May Heaven's grace be leading you.
May grace abundant be your share...
Then, Grace, my dear, we'll meet you there.

Written by Arie DeRooy 1938
for Grace DeRooy VerHoeven (copyright 1980) yes it has been published

Thanks for sharing this with me Pam and Grace. I will hold it close to my heart as I am sure Grace will as she grows older!

And Grace if you read this someday, please know Gods promises for you are great and his love for you is something that is so much bigger than anything else you will ever experience. His plans for you are bigger than anything I can even pray for you. You are an amazing little girl and I can not wait to see the beautiful woman you become.