I cannot believe my youngest daughter is about to turn 12.
It is Monday evening. I am sitting here, waiting for her shower to be over so we can do one of our fave Monday evening routines: snuggling together on my bed (my husband is in family room and my oldest is finishing homework in her own room) and reading. She is past wanting me to read a chapter a night to her from a book. Now, in 6th grade, and quite an advanced reader, she much prefers reading historical fiction, fantasy, and mysteries on her own. However, she still loves for me to read my own book right alongside her. She likes to snuggle close under a quilt and lean her head on me. And I love it, too!
At 4:22 in the morning, with a light snow falling from the sky, on December 21, she was born. Her big 5 year old sister, Courtney, had prayed every night for 3 months, that God would let Mommy have the baby early so she could be put under the Xmas tree. Claire was born on the 21st. My due date was the 28th.
This baby was a mover from the time I found out I was pregnant. In fact, that is how I knew I was pregnant. I kept feeling a "fluttering" early on. She was born with a cyst on one ovary, and the ob/gyn saw it during a routine ultrasound. How I praise God for his healing hand.........He healed my husband and I of fear and anxiety by showing us to just place her in His care. She is His after all! Yes, she had to have the cyst removed at just 10 weeks of age. Yes, that was extremely difficult for me. I had to stop nursing her for 24 hours and that was so hard...and yes...after that she much preferred a bottle. (altho I kept nursing until she was 4 months but that's a whole other story!). Yes, the pediatric surgeon did an amazing job and the scar is super tiny across her abdomen. Yes, the cyst was benign and yes, she needed the ovary and one fallopian tube removed. But glory to God...she has been fine ever since!
This baby was NOT a cuddler. She was a MOVER. Her feet were constantly moving. I wish I could scan a baby pic into this laptop to show you just how PLUMP my youngest baby was. She was born weighing 8lbs and 15 oz. And yes...I had a totally natural delivery. I used the Bradley method. No medical intervention other than the ob/gyn cutting the cord :)
She moved constantly and loved to dance at an early age.
She is a true worshiper when she dances. She blesses everyone who watches her. This is one of my fave pictures of her, worshipping God through her dance. We are fortunate to be in a church that had, for the last 3 years, a vibrant children's drama ministry, where Claire could use her gifting in dance to worship the Lord and bring her talent in a performance venue. Now that the director of that ministry has moved, Claire is just dancing in the ballet studio where she studies for 2 classes per week. She has an "end of the year"Dance Show every June. But, as she gets into her teens years, the church does have an adult dance ministry she can join. She is a dancer.......and she has danced her way into our hearts.
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| Ballet Solo "operation Xmas Child" HizKidzPraise ministry of Grace Fellowship Church November 2009 |
How I praise the Lord for this little girl. She has brought loads of laughter in to our household as she is not as serious of a child as her older sister. She has a spunky spirit and a passion for right vs. wrong. She can also be a challenge to raise at times! Her love languages are acts of service and physical touch and she loves filling her love tank as well as loves getting if filled! (if you don't know what I am talking about, I recommend reading The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman). She is a straight A student and is really into violin and chorus this year. She was just accepted into All-District Chorus and Orchestra so she is just thrilled to have extra music to practice. She also plans on trying out for the 6th grade musical to be performed in April.
She is a born again Christian as she accepted Christ at the age of 7 during a Vacation Bible School class our first summer at our church. She is now a member of the "Epic Faith" junior high youth group and loves it.
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| Claire on the first day of school 6th grade, 2010/2011 |
I feel blessed to be her mom. She keeps me on my toes with parenting and just overall daily life. She can give out hugs that just melt my heart and her sweet spirit is contagious. She is a fantastic little sis to her big sis Courtney and sometimes has followed Courtney around like a little pup. She is a very giving child and is very kind.
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| Claire with her big sis Courtney June 2009 |
So... here's a message for my youngest daughter, Claire Rebekah: happy birthday, my ballerina girl. May God bless you this year....your last year of childhood/elementary school, before the teen years/junior high school begin! You are a true gift from God.
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| Claire 19 December 2010 Celebrating birthday early |
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| Claire worshipping God thru Dance Ballet solo "Let's Rock" HizKidzPraise ministry Summer 2009 |
6 comments:
Lots of birthdays around your place this time of year too, isn't there? A very happy birthday to Claire!
Oh, this was really touching Faith. I love the pic of Courtney and Claire.
Susanne: yup....in December we have my nephew's (now 18) his mom (my younger sis), mine, my bff from michigan, Claire's (12!),and my bff from church was last Sat. Oh...and my nephew on my hubby's side is tomorrow..he turns 11. My parents celebrate their anniversary on the 27th and my grandmother M (my paternal grandmom) was same day as Claire's but she died when Claire was about 10 mo old. July is also full with my hubby, my oldest, 2 nieces, a sis in law and another nephew. lol...
Erin: thanks for visiting! Yes...Claire and Courtney had that pic taken by Dave on the night of C's jr prom.....can you believe Claire is 12?????? do you remember drinking wine with me one evening right before I found out??
Yes, I do remember that night Faith, we were looking at pics of when Courtney was born and I think Dave was in England at the time. I remember you had a headache and I thought to myself that you might be pregnant, turns out you were!
lol...yup! and he was in Italy working on the software for the Disney Magic Cruise ship :) he was working for gefanuc not lti yet...oh boy...those were the days! he was gone for like 5 months remember? thank God for good friends like you and cheryl!
What a beautiful post, Faith! Merry Christmas to you and your family!
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