A sweet little ballerina

Our girly little ballerina.

The past few weeks have been blissfully normal; teetering on the edge of boring. Oh how much we long for boring. Abigail had another cold and ended up on an oral steroid because it kicked her asthma up so much. Even that wasn't enough to make me feel overwhelmed. We took it in stride and moved forward laughing, loving, and playing together. Not a whole lot could mess these last few weeks up. Our little girl is getting much bigger...almost 18 months. She is talking SO much, and making us laugh even more. She has a personality as big as her heart. She is so impressive with her knowledge. She loves letters (I know, crazy huh) and so I've been telling her what they are and the sounds they make. She knows A and B. She walks around going "buh, buh, B." I love watching her learn new things We've also been going to story time regularly and joined a play group. Aside from not wanting to share her food she has done pretty well with the other kids. Then on Sunday I was holding a sweet little boy and Abigail wanted to give him a hug. She gently patted him on the back and rubbed his arms. She was so kind and gentle. It made my heart dance to see her being kind. She loves to hug and kiss mama and papa, but doesn't usually bring it out for others.

Abigail hugging her friend Jamin.

She also has a new favorite game. She ask papa to "sit" (she really wants him to lay down) on the floor. After he does she starts giggling and looks at me and says help please. We then proceed to spend the next ten minutes tickling, tackling, and giggling. It's wonderful...especially since this is the only time Jason doesn't fight back when I tickle him :). There are about a million stories about Abigail that I could tell. We both just love her and think she is such a joy. However we also have really needed some mama and papa time. We are surrounded by offers to babysit, but since Abigail was sick so much over the last six months haven't been able to take advantage of it. But oh did we have a great time Saturday. We went to Indy with Christmas money, and gift cards in hand. Just Jason and I. We shopped, ate, laughed, and came home feeling so refreshed. It was also wonderful knowing the whole time that Abigail was with her grandma and grandpa in Muncie, and they were loving her. We came back to stories of her being silly, dancing, and how much fun they had. It is truly a blessing to know that these two people aren't babysitting, they are just spending time with a little girl they love. Also since Sunday was Valentine's day we got Abigail the little tutu she is wearing in the picture. I am not girly by any means, but Abigail seems to be leaning that way so we decided to indulge it a little. She spent quite some time after I put it on her twirling in circles like a beautiful ballerina. It was well worth it, and she looked so stinking cute! So truly the last weeks have been wonderful beyond words. I am learning to worry less, and take things as they come (or trying to at least). I am really appreciating that I have today with Abigail, and I will make the most of that. We even have an upcoming appointment (ophthalmologist Wednesday) that has not taken over my thoughts. I have committed to not worrying about it. It will bring what it brings, and we will go from there. So you can be praying for us Wednesday as we venture to Indy. And you can be praising God with us that sometimes my joy comes from choosing it instead of trying to "feel" it.

Choosing to be joyful in all things,