Parenting, In a Nutshell

I'm still here.

I haven't blogged for a while as I've been busy celebrating the Bug's birthday and preparing for her party.  The party was today, and Katie had a fantastic time.  She was so happy.  I had a great time too.

Dan asked me after it was over, "Was it worth it?  All that work for a couple of hours?"

My honest answer was that this party ended up taking longer to prepare than I anticipated.  There were some things that I underestimated with the time commitment, and was up until 3 am last night (I know, crazy!~)....and Kaitlin would have had as much fun if I had done a quarter of what I did for the party.  But I did so enjoy listening to her delight over all the little things, and wanting to join in on the decorating.  It was fun.  Most of all, I loved seeing her so happy today.  Kaitlin was quite comfortable being the center of attention.  She danced & played  and as our friends were arriving, she was SO excited and was exclaiming over all the people and said, "Mama, our house is going to BURST!"

She had a really happy day.

I have a lot to blog about, and am hoping to get caught up this week, but I had to record this cute story about Kaitlin.

Dan took the boys bowling during the party, so he wasn't there.  I went into Kaitlin's room to say good night and found Dan and Katie laying on her bed, holding hands as Katie told Dan about her party.  She was telling him that after it was over, she was playing "Mommy, Sister, Puppy, Kitty" with Grace, Claire (and maybe someone else?) and she was the "Mama" and was mad at them.

Of course Dan thought that was hilarious because he suspected her play imitated life and let out his big laugh.

So he said, "And what does a mama say?"

Katie laughed and smiled at me and said,

"I love you."

Dan:  "And what else does the mama say?"

Kaitlin paused, smiled, and said,

"Do you forgive me?"



Kids aren't the only ones in need of grace, and I feel like I've had to speak those words more than I'd like lately.
And I thought, yes, that's parenting in an nutshell ~ love & forgiveness.
It flows both ways.



And just for fun...Here's one of my favorite photos from the day.



That's my baby girl. In a nutshell.