She's a dozen years old....

Our Rayray turned 12 yesterday. How did that happen? A dozen years....slipped by so fast. We barely blinked, it seems.

Her daddy and I wanted to give her a very special and meaningful gift for her 12th bd. I found Lea on etsy.com who makes beautiful hand stamped jewelry. Together, we created a necklace for Rachel that signifies exactly what we want Rachel to always remember...that she is "loved beyond measure," not just by her mama and daddy but by her Heavenly Father. We included the scripture from Ephesians 3:14-19 on the necklace, which is one her daddy prays over her and her siblings. It turned out beautiful and truly touched Rayray's heart when we gave it to her and explained the meaning behind it.

Fri night, we had a cook-out with her Mema, Papa and Aunt Ro. Breakfast in bed (which included ice cream) on Sat morning. She and I shopped half the day at the mall...in the junior dept for the first time, I might add.... and she now has her ears pierced and red shoes (see pic at right.) We then joined her daddy, brother and Jelly Bean for a birthday movie...Nat'l Treasure 2. Although it rained alllllll day long, I think she enjoyed The Turning of 12.

I did mess up one big surprise, though. FeO is taking her on a daddy-daughter date to see Carrie Underwood in concert! We did so good keeping it a secret...I wrote a poem about the date and wrapped the tickets and cd up cute. My mess up came at the last minute...I decided to type "In case you misunderstood, you have two tickets to see Carrie Underwood." I printed it out and DID NOT CLOSE IT on the computer! Naturally, she sat down at the computer and THERE IT WAS! Poor thing...it was all my fault and she couldn't hide what she had seen. After we got over the way I blundered, she was able to get excited about her surprise date with her daddy.


The Girl turned 12...which also means I have been a Mama for a dozen years. I can't help but reflect over the years. A lot of that time, I was pregnant, nursing, diapering and sleep-deprived. I'm certainly a different mom now than I was 12 years ago. Ray was our first born...which normally means "experiment." Somehow, by the sheer grace of God, The Girl is growing into a beautiful lady, in spite of me. She has a very sweet heart, a desire to know Him more, a willingness to use her talents for His glory, a strong competitive streak, and is always up for a challenge.

If you're a young mom, here's a little advice for you. Don't wish away the days. Savor every moment....journal it or take a picture if you have to.

And like the song says...Don't blink.







Comments

Lysa TerKeurst said…
Oh your daughter is beautiful! I just posted on Saturday about my 13 almost 14 year old growing up. The time does fly doesn't it. I didn't say that 13 years ago but now I can't believe it! And Carrie Underwood???? How cool is that.
Happy New Year bloggy friend!
December 31, 2007 at 9:06 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My First Assignment!

Image
Oh, What a Feeling!!! That's the title of my first BFS Assignment. I'm to share a little about what led us to homeschool in the first place....and our ups and downs. The title is kind of funny to me...mainly because THIS homeschool mom runs the gamut of "feelings" about our home educating adventure. One day I feel great and encouraged...the next day I might feel like I've completely lost my mind to think I can teach my own children a livelong thing. One day I feel like I knowthatIknowthatIknow Father has called us to homeschool and the next day, I feel like I'm completely ruining the poor little dears! Please tell me I'm not alone! My two older brothers and their wives introduced the idea of homeschooling to me, who went to a private school all 12 years. There were friends here in our small town, as well, who were homeschooling when hardly no one else in a 60 mile radius was. I talked to my sister in laws at length about their reasons for homeschooling and...
Read more

Rayray's Recap of American Idol

Image
Since I haven't blogged on American Idol in awhile, our Rayray is going to blog tonight in my place. So without further adieu, here's your American Idol recap, through the eyes of a 13 year old. Hey people! I am so honored to be my mama's first guest blogger! Here we go...My first American Idol blog! I'm so excited! :D Allison, I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing: Oh, Allison. Why in the earthly WORLD did you pick that song? That's David Cook's song! *Flashes back to last season* David brought it on that song last year. *flashes back to present* It was too low pitched. I wanted to see her hittin' those big notes tonight. I'm a big fan of Allison, but it just wasn't that great tonight. Anoop Dawg, Everything I Do I Do For You: You should've taken Randy's advice. Rough it up! It sounded like he didn't even try to take his advice. I'm kinda sick of ballads, too. Is it just me, or has he done one like, three weeks in a row? ( PajamaMama loved ...
Read more

What You Missed....

Image
Why is it that when there's tons of great stuff to blog about, I drop the ball and don't blog!!! Perhaps it's lack of time!!! Anyway, I'll catch you up on what you missed with a photo essay. Our Jelly Bean becomes St. JellyBean every Christmas. He grows out his beard and has his whole head dyed white. He has an awesome "suit." Not many folks get a private photo shoot with Santa in their living room! (This pic was only after phase one of beard-dying.) My nephew brought his fiance "home" to meet us all. She's a tiny little cute thing and we so enjoyed being with her! Fiance had never been to a Winn Dixie but loves the book "Because of Winn Dixie." So at 9:00 one night, guess where we took the poor little deprived child! Fiance is an avid basketball player. Had the nerve to do what no girl has every done....challenged the Hero to a little one-on-one. She let him win... These two cousins adore each other. They are two of the sweetest, mil...
Read more