Saturday, March 29, 2008

Gifts

I am so happy! I was digging through old photos this afternoon and came upon this one, which I had thought was gone forever. I let my cousin put it on my chair, knowing that I would have the treasure forever, but thinking it was my only copy. I am thrilled to know now that I have two more!

This photo is a symbol of who Kendall is, the type of person she has always been since the day she was born. I've been keeping a journal for my kids since a year before we even conceived Kyle. (It is currently over 165 pages long!) I searched the journal today for the entry that went with this photo. Here it is:

2/12/99 (You are almost 4 years old)
Kendall, I want to tell you something about a photo that I took of you a couple of weeks ago. When you are older, you will look at it and think of it as a cute picture of you with your little snowman, but to me, it represents much more.

For weeks, you'd been asking if you could go outside and make a snowman, but the weather wasn't right for it. One day, it warmed up a bit; the snow was better, and you were playing outside by the front door. I looked out the window and saw you working on a little snowman; you had made a little base, and the snowman was tall and very thin, about 8 inches tall. You then proceeded to add more snow to make it taller, but instead of it staying together, the top half of your patiently-built structure completely fell apart and landed in a mess.

At this point, you demonstrated a part of your spirit; your attitude towards life. Instead of getting angry or frustrated, or simply giving up, you decided to make the best of it. Moments later, you came in to ask for supplies for your snowman--You were so excited and proud of your work. I helped you place the thumbtack eyes, baby carrot nose, and sock hat on your little snow "man." You beamed over your finished product, and of course, I took a photo.

I love your optimism; the way you delight in the simplest things. You have a fantastic attitude towards life; it's inspiring.


At 13, Kendall continues to inspire us with her gifts of a blessed temperament and an open, loving spirit. We are so lucky.

10 comments:

  1. You know I had to go back and look at the picture again, after reading the story, because at first glance I only noticed her little bright and happy face, she totally outshined that adorable lil snowman. So I had to take another look to see the snowman!

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  2. This is the reason EVERY parent ought to journal. (I wish I had.) It is wonderful that you had that journal entry. The picture along with the journal entry make such a priceless keepsake for her.

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  3. Too cute, hey?

    I have always loved to write; I have always taken a LOT of photos, but I've never been a scrapbooker. I figure my kids won't mind, since the journals will fill in any blanks they might have :)

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  4. Will you be my mom???

    I'm glad my kids don't read your blog (or mine for that matter), it would make me look really BAD!

    I hope your kids know what a great mom they have.

    :)

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  5. This picture spoke volumes to me about who she is before I even read your words...
    what a wonderful girl.

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  6. Thanks for the warm fuzzies, Ladies.

    I think my kids appreciate me...both show appreciation on a regular basis through their words and most of the time, their actions. I really can't complain. Like I said, we're lucky. I thank God every day for His help raising them.

    Kyle comes home tomorrow after his 10 days in Florida...we'll see for sure then how much he appreciates me (I'll bet he has a bit of laundry!)

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  7. P.S. It is never too late to start journaling...can you imagine the gift it would be to be given a journal that your grandma wrote for you? Don't have grandkids yet? Write anyway!

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  8. I've never had the self-discipline to keep a journal. Goodness knows I've tried, but it always gets forgotten.

    That picture is amazing and the entry will make Kendall cry when she's older. :-D

    Thanks for stopping by my place.

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  9. OH my gosh, that is so wonderful.

    I'm going to try to do that for my boys, too. What a wonderful idea!

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  10. I love your consistent journaling! These will be treasures for the families of your kids.

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