A not-so-tiny little brag

Amanda recently had her 15th birthday. Can you believe it? Fifteen years old! When did that happen? In the blink of an eye, that's when. I remember her as a two year old, showing us her "fungers" (fingers). I remember her being so excited when I walked through the door with baby Taylor for the very first time. I can see her sleeping in bed with Jeremy, all curled up to him, knowing even then that it would all be alright, as long as her daddy was beside her. I see her in the tub with a big ice cream hair-do, made out of shampoo, sticking way high up in the air, just like she liked. I remember when she fell and hit her eye on her toddler bed and needed stitches and I ran out of the house carrying her to the car, forgetting my shoes and purse. I remember the day she was out shopping with her granny and got her arm stuck in a gumball machine. It took some liquid soap and some tugging and pulling by store employees, but Amanda was finally seperated from the gumball machine and an important lesson was learned. I remember coloring easter eggs with her, painting with her, teaching her to color in the lines, how to read. I remember her very first day of kindergarten, how I cried when she walked away from me.

Now, she's fifteen. And an amazing fifteen, at that. She's grown into a beautiful, confident, intelligent, musically gifted young woman. I look at her and see so much of what I wasn't at her age. I admire her for her conviction to do what's right, to be fair in every situation, to be completely comfortable in her own skin. I marvel at her high standards. Did you know that she won't put a song on her IPod if it has even one bad word in it? She checks the lyrics of everything she listens to. Pretty amazing, huh?

It's amazing to me that Jeremy and I started out with this innocent little baby and even though we've made mistakes along the way, forgotten to do some things, been occasionally lazy and inconsistent, she's turned out pretty fabulous. And I can already feel that day coming... that day when I will take her to college and she'll walk away from me. And I know I will cry. I will "lose" her and I will have to say good-bye. Because that's what we do as mothers. We slowly work ourselves out of a job. I don't look forward to that day. I can't imagine our daily family interactions without her little bits of quick wit, her sarcastic sense of humor, her example of all that is good and right. I dont' know why Heavenly Father designed them to grow up. I've thought about not feeding her, but that doesn't seem right either. sigh...











This picture makes me laugh because 1) the incredibly bored look on Amanda's face and 2) Taylor's face. Yes, she was trying to blow out her sister's candles. And yes, we are using Dora the Explorer plates. What can I say??