Eden is FOUR

happy FOURTH birthday to our vibrant and gregarious eden isimbi.  you are so loved and such a treasure to us.  that is what isimbi means after all, something that is high up and valued.  God has given you a mighty spirit and we are so in love with you.

just before sitting down to compose this post i re-read my last few milestone posts for eden and i just reveled in re-feeling all the things i recorded.  it made me so glad again that i commit to documenting, in whatever way i can.  even posts that fall short of really communicating how i feel still record enough of it that i can travel through time, and remember the way each of those thoughts felt when i wrote them.  im so resolved to continue.  its like investing in the past and the future at the same time.

four seems really really big to me.  i mean three is still somewhat a toddler right?  or at least not that far removed from a toddler.  but FOUR?  four is close to five.  it just feels really different.  

i dont really know where to start in describing eden right now.  she is smart.  mostly that comes out in her being very manipulative.  and we are working really hard right now on teaching her to be honest with what she feels and says and not trying to hide the truth about her motivations.  its hard enough work in a grown up.  it seems impossible work with a four year old.  she is very smart.  there are so many great things that come with her quickness of mind, and so many challenges as well.

and i just have to say it once, that her  smile can pretty much fix anything. 

she loves music, loves dancing, loves creating with paint and watercolors.  she loves to have me read to her, lately from farmer boy, any narnia book, and charlotte's web.  she really loves being told stories too, especially ones that robert or i make up. unfortunately my 'making up stories' game is not strong.  resolved to work on that too. when she makes up stories they go all sorts of wonky directions and usually end up with someone 'dying with all his might'.  i dare you to keep a straight face, i never can.

she wears the same few dresses every day (her beloved alice & ames dresses) and only wants to wear pants if the activity requires.  and to her, most activities require a twirly dress.  this romper is made by the company that makes all her dresses so she will also make an exception for it.  (and her bow is by the amazing jbhandmades).

  

i really love running errands with her.  she has this power to make even the most routine things, like getting groceries or grabbing something at target, into moments that i don't want to forget.  in fact its due to her that grocery shopping is a favorite activity of mine. because she loves going to trader joe's so much, she talks to all the people who work there, she hugs and high fives and pleases and thank yous her way through the store and i actually dread going without her.  its a magical power of hers, making ordinary into extraordinary and unforgettable.  and what a gift, when life flies by at such a pace, to have a sidekick who makes you actually slow down, and notice vibrant and beautiful things.  

speaking of noticing things, she really loves nature.  i like to think i have helped foster the wonder that she has when we find a katydid on our porch or see a house finch in our feeder.  but i think there is a spark in her that is bigger than anything i could have ignited.  i think that the Creator himself whispers to her of the wonder of His creation, and she can't help but respond in awe.  oh eden i pray that you would always see His hand in all created things, great and small.  i pray that your heart would always be wrapped up in wonder at what He has done, what He has made.


eden is also a great big sister.  she climbs in etta's crib most mornings to wait for the light to turn green and signal their release from chambers.  i find them in there 'chatting' as eden calls it.  i am not sure what joy in life compares with watching your kids enjoy each other.

she does struggle with being bossy, which i know she inherited directly from me (sorry sibs).  when i tell her that she may not boss her sister around she says 'but mom it feels SO good to tell her what to do.'  and i have to empathize, it does feel good to have power or influence over someone smaller and weaker.  but i try to teach her that it is a great responsibility, not something to be enjoyed and used as a weapon.  and i try and have her consider how she would enjoy being squashed by my authority in the way that she tries to squash her sister.  hopefully some of that will take hold and grow.

this post is really more of a slow ramble through my mind and i could easily keep going, but ill bring it to a close for now.  suffice it to say, this girl has my heart and my mind all wrapped up.  she is such a bright spot in every day, even the days that really don't seem that bright.  and i am so thankful that God chose in his wisdom to begin teaching me motherhood through her.