She melts my heart...

Adeline, that is.

Sometimes that girl can drive her mama CrAzY. Yes, Crazy with a Capital 'C'. 

Scott says she's a "mini-me". And, I can so see that in many ways. Prayers are appreciated for those who know me well. My strong willed personality that now my sweet, darling daughter has inherited can be both wonderful and a bit much at the same time... ;)

But, that girl can also melt my heart. And that is exactly what happened this morning. A moment I want to hold on to and not forget after I lay my head to sleep tonight and wake up with another day's agenda on the brain. No, this one, I want to savor. So, as I just laid both kiddos down for a nap, I grabbed my laptop to recall this special moment.

I was peeking over the stairs watching her and Graham play. Well, I should say Graham was trying to play with her and Adeline wanted her own space. So, she pushed him down as he was trying to get closer. He was sitting close by and while she didn't push him hard and he didn't hurt himself (no crying), she still did something she knew was wrong. Because she quickly looked around and sure enough, she saw me. I told her to go to time out. She didn't ask why. She went. She knew.

After a few minutes or so, I picked up 'brother' and went to sit beside Adeline. She reached over to touch G. I asked her if she was ready to apologize to Graham and she told him she was sorry for not letting him play with her. I explained that wasn't the only reason, that she pushed him too. She then apologized for that as well and hugged him. But then quickly jumped up and began speaking about sometimes she's cranky. Almost as if to say it's ok to not be nice when were cranky. I had her sit back down again beside us, telling her that sometimes we can be cranky, but we should always be joyful. She wasn't paying much attention to me. I asked her if she knew why she should still be joyful and she couldn't answer. "Because God gave us another day together, to love one another." She looked me in the eyes. "We may not always have these days together", I said, "One day I could be gone and you won't see mama anymore, so today we should be joyful." She said, "you could die" and I said, "yes" (a topic of conversation we have had with her over the past months...difficult concept for an almost 4 year old, but she is starting to understand). Her eyes looked so warm, so sweet. She then apologized to me. A true apology. She knows what it means to say she is sorry, but often times I wonder if she truly is. Today, there was something different.

I then asked to her if she knew why Graham was trying to get in her little pillow-made circle on the floor in the living room? She looked a bit perplexed. I had an opportunity to tell her how much her brother loves & adores her. That is why he wants to be so close to her. That he needs her to be a loving & strong big sister to him in so many ways...so many ways she will learn along the way (and I can feel my heart break just a little to think of those what if's in the future, but I don't ponder here long). I can see that she is proud to be a big sister & wants to not just be Graham's sister, but also his friend. Her love is evident.

She stood up and asked if we could pray. I was a bit taken back. We pray in our house, that is nothing new. But, this time, was different. Adeline was asking us to pray together. Her prayer was so heartfelt. She prayed to "God & Jesus" (that is how she begins all of her prayers & it is just so sweet). She apologized for what she did. She prayed for each of us. For God to protect us. She also prayed for Daddy (who was at work) to bring him home safely and no texting & driving (this is too funny because this is what daddy says daily to mommy as I am walking out the door). 

I had tears streaming from my eyes. It was a beautiful moment. Afterwards, she hugged me and her brother. It was a BIG family hug (having Daddy there in spirit).

Today, she melted my heart...