LIke Mother, Like Daughter...

Today was my day with Elyssia. We don't get these often enough and today was a reminder to have it more frequently. She was very excited and chattered most of the way there. I was observing her and how she's growing up so fast lately. Her poor little legs are scarred up from so many bike and tree climbing adventures. Another top tooth is loose and ready to come out any day now:). So much about this little girl is changing and I'm thankful that the Lord gives us these moments as parents to enjoy them.

First stop was the Salvation Army. Their 50% off sale is this week and I wanted to have her try on some shirts to make sure they fit before I bought them. She had a lot of fun looking through them, saddened by my rejection of some and rejoicing that I said Yes to others:). She tried to pick some out for me too, sadly they were the wrong size. Flattering that she thinks they'd fit me, but nothing we can do about that. She was disappointed that I didn't buy anything I tried on. I tried explaining that it's not wise to buy things that don't fit. Someday she'll understand... We found some cute little skirts and shirts for Kiersten and even a couple pairs of pants for the boys. Elyssia didn't want to go home without something for them. She's very thoughtful that way.

Next stop, the LIBRARY. Here's where we enter my favorite territory as a little girl. Elyssia is no different. She walks in, eyes a couple books, picks one up, sits down, cracks open the cover and enters her own little world. I remember doing this as often as possible growing up and LOVE that she has the same passion for reading. Mind you, it does get in the way of school and chores sometimes, but all in all it's a blessing. We had 20 books to enter for each of the older two in the summer reading contest. The Librarian ran out of fishes to write the names on. We were taping some up and I looked around to see how the other kids were doing. Sadly there only seemed to be one other avid reader in the bunch. I know that the other kids are probably outside playing, but I have to say that our kids probably spend an average of 4-8 hours outside these days. There is still a lot of time in the afternoon and evenings for reading when it gets hot outside. So, it was kind of fun to see the Librarian's surprise at our list of books. She's very nice and we always enjoy visiting with her. Leaving is the hardest part. Elyssia's usually halfway through a book, with another one in mind. We did find a really cute one to borrow though. It's a book by Tim McGraw about spending the day with his daughter. She wonders what exciting adventures they will have and it ends up that just being with her Daddy is the biggest adventure of all. I know that Scott treasures the times with his girls(and boys) and I'm very thankful for that. Trips out to their "African Jungle" become pretty wild sometimes. The other day I heard lots of tiger noises. They've decided to add animals to the mix and then I see Scott's head pop up out of the brush with a big smile on his face. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE living out in the country. Where kids can be loud:). I don't enjoy the noise everyday, but it's nice that they have that freedom.

The last stop was for Elyssia to get some crayons and for me to pick up some things for the missionary gift basket. We ran inside as some raindrops started to fall and enjoyed the last part of our adventure. Oh, there was also a stop at the local bakery for a cookie and a loaf of bread. Yes, we could make it at home, but what's an outing without a little stop for snacks:). The other kids were jumping with excitement when Elyssia got home. They could hardly wait for her to tell them about her adventure. Wait til they find out that tomorrow we get to all have a big adventure together. I think it even includes pony rides for free:).

So, I'll try to remember to take lots of pictures in the next couple days and post the ones from yesterday too. I've got an especially cute one of the little Princess. Tonight Garrison said, "I love my little sister cause she gives me messy kisses." Caleb gets a big kick out of Kiersten too, even though she tends to follow him around more than he likes. He tells her, "Follow me little beebee." His pronunciation of baby. Heading off to dream about the day now...