As I sit down to type this letter there is a chorus of Do Re Me from the Sound of Music going on behind me. Anyone who knows Emma knows that we never go too long without singing that song. She likes for one person to sing Do Re Me and one person to sing Jingle Bells, in rounds if possible! Clare is meanwhile terrorizing a stack of magazines. She likes to spread them out and pick the most colorful one to eat :-) These everyday moments are the ones containing the most unexpected joys!!! And we get to have so many of them!
As I think back over the past year the coolest happenings are the things that Doug and I have experienced and learned through our friends and family!
But first a little about the girls. Emma's 3 1/2, she wants a doggie and a brother for Christmas (not getting either one unfortunately.) She loves to sing and dance, jewelry, mornings, books, her little sister, going on walks with her daddy. Several folks have mentioned to me that they have seen Emma and Doug sightings around the square in Ellijay! We go to the library on Tuesdays and I am so proud of her for being one of the few kids who is listening to the story instead of going crazy ( at least for a little while). We get to see more and more of what goes on in her head as she verbalizes things...for instance....she said the other day, "Naomi Moore, Daddy Moore, Clare Moore, Emma Moore, we all friends!" And she also told us that the opposite of sweet was "yucky!" I agree!!
Clare is 8 months old and very opinionated. She loves bath time...practically dives into the tub and then she ski's across the tub from one end to the other!!! She does not like when her sister falls asleep in the car seat beside her and ceases entertaining her and holding her hand. Clare will cry or squeal very loudly to try to wake her up! One of my favorite moments ( a repeat story if you read the blog) was when we where all jumping on the bed and then Clare kicked her feet into the air so Emma and I imitated her. This tickled her and she started laughing which made us laugh and vice versa...it was our first giggle fest!!!! Another memory...you parents will relate...takes place at 2:30 AM. Clare has a case of insomnia and since we are so tired that we are in a zombie-like state, we get her and put her in bed with us, thinking that she will fall back asleep. Instead, she crawls over to me and peers into my face with a big grin then she goes over to Doug and pulls his hair to make sure he is paying attention. We watch bleary-eyed as she crawls to the headboard and shakes it back and forth like BABY-ZILLA. It seemed funny at the time, but maybe that's because we were delirious.
On a different note, the growth in our marriage, our roles as parents, and in ourselves is overwhelming....we are still trying to just digest it all. It's humbling that we had so much to learn and it indicates that we have just reached the tip of the iceberg. This year we were reminded of over and over again that we have NOTHING on our own. Nothing! God used our (Doug's) willingness to bless the youth ministry...but He didn't need us...He could have used someone else. There is nothing that we could do or not do that would change how He feels about us. That He loves us. Irregardless of what we do. Plain and simple. He wants us to wake up each morning and say, "this is Your day, what do You want to do with it, through ME. " The hard part....to remember to do that everyday and when he says to do something or ( even harder) not to do something to OBEY.
Pause ...to tell Emma not to let CLARE lick her toes.
We've just gotten home from our Christmas tour and it was wonderful to have time with family. I am surrounded by mounds of Christmas gifts and can't help but be completely overwhelmed by generosity not just from Christmas but all year! GENEROSITY of all kinds! All the visits, gifts, prayer, and encouragement when Clare was born. All the same for Emma's 3rd birthday, my 30th, and Doug's birthday! And all the gifts of support and love through out the year! You all bewilder us. We humbly say thank you, not even knowing in some cases who to thank!
May this year bring you all that you need. May you be blessed with friends and family and laughter and growth! Happy New Year!
Love,
the S'moores
