Precious Moments

A couple of nights ago, I was sharing with a friend some stories about my girls.  I ended up in tears. She ended up in tears.  It made me wish I could share the preciousness of their stories with all of you.  However, I'm just not sure how much I can say.  So many things aren't allowed to be shared.  I guess I will share little snippets; and if I find out those things are off limits, I will delete this post.

When they first came to me, I gave the oldest the option to call me Miss Sheryl or Mom.  She chose to call me Miss Sheryl.  Actually, the first week I believe she called me "Hey you".  LOL  In that first month with me though, she went from calling me "Hey you" to "Miss Sheryl" to "Mom" all on her own.  I remember the week she slowly started calling me "Mom".  It melted my heart.  I told her that I loved hearing her call me that.  It was a sign that she was slowly beginning to trust me.

The youngest called me "Mom" from the first night.  She was so little and mom was the easiest thing to say.  As time went on, she would look at me, put her hand on my face and say "my mommy".  Tears came to my eyes the first time she said those words.  After that, it kind of became a game.  She would say "my mommy" and I would say "my Z".  I treasured those moments.  Every morning she would greet me with a huge grin and a hug.  Must say, since I had to wake up early, that was the best way to make the morning better.  Every evening when I picked her up from daycare, she would race to the doorway and leap into my arms.

They had a special way of slowly opening up to me and wiggling into my heart.  It was the little things like when they would want to snuggle next to me while watching a movie or wanting me to put my arm around them during story time that showed me they were allowing themselves to receive my love.

When the oldest would get grumpy, I would ask her if her Love Bucket was almost empty.  I would scoop her up and give her a big hug and lots of kisses.  Her Love Bucket emptied quickly so it took a lot of quality time and hugs to fill it back up.  But it was so worth it.  The first time she told me she loved me, I cried.  I knew it was genuine.  It came without prompting and totally of her own free will.

I'll never forget the night when I knew she was beginning to understand all of our conversations about God.  It was a Sunday night, and she was supposed to be going to sleep.  All of a sudden, I heard a little girl saying oh so loudly "God is always with me!".  She kept repeating it over and over and over.  I loved it!  The only down side was that it was bed time and she was keeping her sister up.  But I knew, I knew that she was getting it.  She was starting to comprehend that there was a God who loves her very much and He is always with her.

The youngest was my little cuddle buddy.  She wanted to be held all the time.  She sat on my left hip so much that my lower back will probably never be the same.  At bed time, I would give her a hug and a kiss goodnight.  She would lay her head on my shoulder and ask to be held or rocked to sleep.  She never wanted me to let her go.

Oh how I love them!  These are just a few of the highlights.  The good memories I never want to forget.  The moments I hope they will never forget.  I hope the seeds of God's love will be deep in their hearts.  More than anything, I want them to know God and I want them to know they are loved.