Growing Up

My baby girl just turned 14.  How did that happen?  Today Fred and I dropped both the girls off at an ice skating rink so they could have fun with their friends from the co-op.  Then we went to Barnes and Noble to hang out until it was time to pick them up.  Maybe some kids do this kind of stuff all the time, but not our girls.  It was a special event, and boys would be there.  I guess that's what made it really different for me.  Fred and I were a little uneasy, but I know all these kids.  And they are good kids.  But at the store all I could think about were the good memories here when the girls were little.  We used to go to Barnes and Noble every Sunday after church.  The girls would be dressed up in pretty dresses with shiny shoes and ankle socks with lace.  They were SO ADORABLE!  Everyone would look at them and smile.  We would have hot chocolate and Fred would let them choose sticker books that would entertain them the rest of the afternoon.  Then they would play with the train set in the children's section or sit at a little table and look through a storybook.  Our little girls...  What a privilege it has been to raise them. 

Today Fred and I sit alone and sip our coffee and think of those good times.  When we pick the girls up, they are excited and animated as they tell what happened at the rink and who said what and when can they go dress shopping because a dance is coming up.  These are good times too.  Our daughters are just as much fun and just as beautiful. I am so proud of the lovely young women they are becoming.

Liana wanted a photo shoot for her birthday and she and Arielle went outside for a long while.  They returned with some great photos that they took of each other.  I like this one.  All my thoughts tonight are summed up in this photo.  Liana looks up at the pine tree planted in our backyard, one that we bought for a Christmas tree many years ago.  The time that has passed, the wonder of it all.