A Letter to Camdyn on her 4th Birthday

My Dearest Camdyn,

“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. When you’re not happy, skies are gray..”

Last night I kissed you for the last time as a three year old. Today you are four. Four. Years. Old. So many times over the last few months, I have caught myself being just mesmerized by you. I cannot fathom how four years have flown by in the blink of an eye. We have had 1,461 beautiful days together that have raced by.

I held you for the first time and fell completely in love. I blinked and suddenly you were talking.

I held your hands over your head teaching you to put one foot in front of another. I blinked and you were running through the backyard.

I blinked again and you were headed to Pre-K.
I really have to quit blinking! ;)

This morning I am reflecting on the last year. It’s definitely been one of tremendous growth. You are leaving the toddler stage and are headed straight into kid territory.

This year has been a joyous mixture of fun and trials. Whoever said it was “Terrible Twos” was a liar. It should definitely be the “Terrible Threes”. You are fiercely stubborn. When you set your mind to something, I am hard pressed to change it. Instead of just saying “No” when I ask you to do something, you will say “No and here’s what I am going to do instead.” That mind of your own has driven me to the edge of insanity on more than one occasion. When you’re not exerting that rebellious streak, you are making me full-out belly laugh. You are funny, independent, dramatic, and loving. There is never a dull moment in our home.

You are so imaginative. All you need is some dress up clothes, a baby doll and a stroller and your world is transformed. I find myself lost in your world of make-believe, listening to your energetic stories of princesses, monsters, and mermaids. Your stories are a perfect blend of you – all sparkle and spunk. Your creativity is contagious. I love, love, love that you are much more interested in reading books and making up stories than you are in watching t.v.

You are so stinking smart. You went to three year old pre-k and blew it out of the water. You honestly could go to Kindergarten right now and be just fine. You’ve learned to identify all of your letters, uppercase and lowercase. You know every letter sound and are beginning to blend sounds. You can count to 50 on your own, to 100 if I give you help at the tens changes. You have memorized the pledge of allegiance, the pledge to the Bible and the 23^rd Psalms. You are working on memorizing all of the books of the bible in order. You absolutely boggle my mind.

Sweet baby girl, you are so loved. I loved you before I ever knew I was pregnant. I prayed for a child and the Lord granted me the desires of my heart- he gave me you. You are such a blessing and joy to me. My heart is so full because of you. I pray for you daily. A long while ago, I came across a prayer that has become engrained in my heart. These words reflect my deepest desires for your life.

“When it’s hard to be patient… make her willing to suffer. When it’s ridiculous to be thankful… make her see all is grace. When it’s radical to forgive… make her live the foundation of our faith. May she be bread and feed many with her life and her laughter. May she be dead to all the ladders and never go higher; only lower, to the lonely, the least, and the longing. May she be led of the Spirit to lead many to the cross."

Camdyn, I am so proud of who you are. I am blessed beyond measure to be your momma.

I love you to the moon, baby girl.

Love,

Momma


Just like last year, I have picked out the top 5 funniest memories of you this year.

1)    I listen to the bible app in the mornings while I am getting ready. I guess you thought God himself was talking to me through my phone because after several days of rain, you told me to “Tell God in your phone to make the rain go away.”

2)    Speaking of the rain, you absolutely hate the carwash, so when it started raining again one day, you said “Don’t worry Momma. The rain is just God’s carwash. I don’t like that other carwash. Let’s not go back there.”

3)   When I asked what you wanted to be when you grew up, you sighed and said “Tall enough to reach food in the pantry!”

4)   You and I had been having lots of discussions about saying things you don't mean. As I was cooking dinner, you kept asking me if it was ready and I kept telling you “in a few minutes.” After about the fourth time, you scolded me and told me not to say things I didn’t mean. I questioned what you were talking about and you responded “You keep saying dinner will be ready in a few minutes. It's been a few minutes. What you mean to say is that it will be ready in a few HOURS.”

5) You told me that when you turned 4 you would be willing to eat hamburgers and salad because at 4 you would be a grown up. I reminded you that you were just a few weeks away from being 4, so why not try salad and hamburgers now... You sighed, exasperatedly, and said "Mom, don't rush me to grow up!" Ha!