My Mostest Friend

This girl...

Okay, this girl.

Completely amazing kid.

Passionate, determined, a downright little ball of fire sometimes. It is possible she soaked up just about every one of those genes her parents had to offer.

Truthfully, she makes our heads spin now and again.

But, I'll tell you what... she has a heart of gold. Sweet, gentle, and a downright little ray of bed head sunshine who keeps us smiling and singing.

See? :)

Oh, and let us not forget hammy.
But you already know that.

She is my daughter. Otherwise, why would I come into the kitchen the other morning to this:
She got out snack and a magazine for each of them all by herself. I have no doubt she was planning something spectacular from the look on her face when I asked what she was doing.

In fact, recently I was scolded for asking her to take her snack to her tray table. "But I just decorated this place!" she protested from among a pile of pillows and blankets behind the curtains. From one party planner to another, how can I argue with that?

She has taken to calling me her "mostest friend." When I leave her bedroom in the evenings or the house to go on an errand she'll call after me, "I'll see you soon, Mommy! Don't forget; you're my mostest friend!"

During a round of the stomach bug in which Maddie and I were hit the hardest, Hope couldn't stand the fact that we were asking her not to be near us for a little while. Joe did everything he could to console her including calling another best friend, Nana, on the phone. At one point Nana said, "Let me tell you something, honey, it's just that no one wants you to get sick." Hope's quick retort was, "Let me tell you something, Nana, Mommy and Maddie are my mostest friends and I need to be with them. They are hiccuping all over the place!"

When Joe or I go somewhere Hope often says to us, "I hope for God to protect you!" She asks about her Daddy throughout the day and finds comfort in knowing just where he is and what he might be up to. She even takes seriously the job of protecting her many coveted stuffed animals. I finally convinced her that one basket is enough for hauling them all over creation. I'd babysit the rest in the meantime and be sure they are all protected. This worked. For a day or so. :)

We have started learning about forgiveness and her understanding of it floors me. Often she'll make a bad choice and not rest easy until you have responded to her, "Will you forgive me?" with a hearty "YES!" Just the other day Maddie got a consequence for throwing some food onto the floor again, and that sensitive babe started bawling. As if that doesn't rip my heart out enough Hope bursts into tears saying, "Oh that hurts my feelings for my sister! Mommy, ask Maddie to forgive you right now!"

Yep, she's taking this biggest of the sisters role seriously. She asks all the time if today is the day that the baby will come out. I shouldn't have been surprised when one afternoon she rolls into my bedroom with a ball of pillows and blankets and a stuffed dog in front of her belly. "I'm having a baby too, and it's not coming out until yours does!" she announces. We determine she is having a baby boy with the very flattering name of Slushy. Then her nine minute pregnancy gets the best of her... "Look, Mommy! Guess mine needed to come out already! Would you like to hold him?"

Goodness, the babies. The number of mouths to feed around here is seriously getting out of control.
Along those same lines, our daily devotion the other morning was about Hannah. We learned how sad she was because she didn't yet have children. Hope looked downcast for a moment and then brightens, "But not you, Mommy! You have me and Madds!" When we got to the part about God giving Hannah a son, Hope grinned again from ear to ear. Right then reminding me to pray my heart out for all those who find themselves in Hannah's shoes.

My mostest girlfriend.
Well, one of three anyway.

~Katrina

*By the way... she cut herself some bangs with, ahem, child scissors during rest time the other day. I haven't even touched them up yet. She's both hammy and pretty good. This is a very dangerous combination, folks. :)