Wednesday, September 7, 2011

"I'm Not Scared!"

I always thought that I would have a daughter just like me in every way (silly, I know). She would have my temperament, my hobbies, and we would get along just fine. Discipline wouldn't be a problem because she would be so well behaved and she would be such a sweet, quiet little girl. Ha!

Then Elliana was born. From the very day she came into this world I knew she would be a challenge for me. She rattled every preconceived notion I had. She was incredibly strong willed right from the get-go. Dr's even commented at 2 weeks old how strong willed she was. As an infant she was also colicky.

As she grew older I learned other things about my Ellie. She was loud (I am not), incredibly extroverted (I am not) and at times, quite a tomboy. I also learned as she grew older that disciplining her would NOT be easy and I would have many embarrassing moments as I tried to tame my wild Elliana.

I remember calling my mom many times asking for advice and even just some help. Then one day mom said something to me that just stuck. I'll always remember this piece of advice. She said "God gives us the children he does for a reason. It's not just because you're the right parent for them, but they're the right child for you. Our children teach us and make us grow in many ways too."

My mom was right. Elliana is only 2 1/2 years old and I've already grown in so many ways because of her. I'll get to what I've learned from her, but I had to share this story;

Every year our small little town holds a Harvest Festival on Labor Day weekend. It's so much fun and family oriented. There are rides, jump castles, music, fair food (unfortunately, I love fair food) and many booths.

We went this past Monday and had a wonderful time. Just as we were getting ready to leave, we discovered the kiddie rides at the edge of the park. Everything was about to close down but Ellie desperately wanted to ride some of the rides. I quickly obliged. After all, you only live once.

Although Ellie was the ONLY child on a lot of the rides, she had a great time.









Do you see that very tall, very steep slide in the background? That's where our story continues.

After riding a few rides, Ellie noticed the very tall (I think it was like 25-30 feet tall) and very steep slide. She insisted that she had to go down it. (I have to note that there were much older children crying because they were too scared to go on this slide and their friends were trying to coax them into sliding down it.) I was quick to point that out to Ellie and tell her it was too big and too scary for her. Without skipping a beat she looked at me and exclaimed "I'm not scared!" Then she marched right up to the man who was letting kids through and handed him a ticket.

As she began climbing the just as steep ladder, I realized that she may not have been scared, but I was. I kept waiting for her to fall of the ladder, or I just "knew" she would get to the top and change her mind. But every few steps she would turn around and yell "Mommy! I'm not scared!"

Once she was at the top I couldn't see her anymore. Again, I was waiting for her to cry out for help or say she wanted down. But I never heard that. Just a few moments later she was at the bottom of the slide with a big grin on her face. She exclaimed "I want to do that again!" Of course!



I was so proud of Ellie in that moment. I loved seeing how fearless she was. It was one of the many life lessons she's already taught me.

I have no doubt that God chose me to be her mom or that he chose her to be my daughter. She is nothing that I dreamed my daughter would be-and I am SO thankful! My dreams of a daughter seem so boring now. Honestly, my life would be so boring without Ellie. Yes, Elliana is just what I needed to make me grow into a better person.

Every day I thank God for giving me Ellie and for making her who she is. I can't wait to see what other lessons I'm going to learn from her. And just think of all of the fun we're going to have! ;-)

3 comments:

Jenn with Munchkin Land Designs said...

Seriously one of your best posts! Thank you for sharing this glimpse into your heart and into the amazing, fun, and daring girl that is your "wild Elliana". She is so precious to me, and I'm so thankful she's a part of our family. She keeps things crazy. ;) I love you, Chris, and I KNOW you're the perfect mom for Elliana Faith.

Courtney said...

I was just going to say what Jenn did, I think this is one of my favoirite posts of yours. That story is SO Elliana, she sees something and she has to conquer it. I'm happy that she isn't the daughter you dreamed of too because she is too much fun for words and you are doing a GREAT job mothering her!

Momof4Girls said...

Christine, I lOVE this post!! Not only because you have shared just how daring and fearless Elliana is, but because you shared your heart as her mom!! Yes, our children DO teach us and stretch us. IN WAYS WE NEVER IMAGINE!! We learn to trust God more as we parent them. I am thankful for God's gift of Ellie to you!! It is a joy to watch you with her!! =)
Love you, Mom

About Me

My Photo
I am a daughter of the King. Saved by grace. Follower of Christ. I love my God and I believe that he is faithful and true to his word! I'm still figuring out and trying to follow his plan for my life. I am a wife to my best friend Caleb, a mother to my miracle babies (they are my greatest joy and challenge), a sister and best friend to 3 passionate women, and a daughter to 2 amazing parents that continue to teach me what it is to be real and faithful to God and his word. I am lucky to get to be a stay at home Mom (thanks to God's provision). I love music, singing, coffee, cooking, baking, traveling, our beautiful state of Colorado, and mostly being with the family and friends that I love!

Husband, Caleb

Husband, Caleb
Caleb is an amazing husband and father. He is always so good to me. He is my best friend. He is the romantic one. We love to laugh and spend time together. We've been married for 7 years and I just love that I get to spend the rest of my life with him.

Our 1st Miracle

Our 1st Miracle
Elliana Faith... God blessed us with our first miracle little girl in December 2008. She is sweet, smart, spunky, funny, strong willed, precocious, extremely outgoing, vocal and so full of life! She brings us so much joy.

Our 2nd Miracle

Our 2nd Miracle
Ethan James,.. God blessed us with our little boy in March 2011. Ethan was a bit of a surprise and an even bigger miraclle. Ethan is ALL BOY! He is very active, into sports and running around. He is also sweet, introverted, affectionate, and laid back. These days he often has us laughing, he's starting to show a little bit of "clown" in him. He makes our hearts happy too. :)

Our 3rd Miracle

Our 3rd Miracle
Emsley Jeannette... Our surprise baby girl was born on June 11th, 2013 and came into the world 4 weeks early. Her first 2 weeks of life were spent in the NICU, but due to God's hands and the prayers of many people, she grew quickly and came home to join our family! She is an easy, sweet baby and we are enjoying getting to know her personality.

Sisters

Sisters
We fight one day and then the next day we're fine. We're always loud and crazy when we get together. We're very passionate. We've been through it all together, lots of ups and downs. We're eachother's biggest supporters.

Followers

Designed By:


Munchkin Land Designs


Credits

 
Designed by Munchkin Land Designs • Copyright 2013 • All Rights Reserved