Growing Up

My sweet Ella Grace is growing up.  Of course I've noticed this over the past year, but it seems like over the past month she has become a big kid.

It all started with this:

No training wheels

She literally decided one day she didn't want to have training wheels anymore, and the next day she was riding her bike without them!  She has such determination!!


And then this happened not too long after:

See the missing tooth?

She was so excited to lose her first tooth.  She has been asking me all year long when she was going to lose her tooth.  You see they have a chart in her kindergarten class tracking how many teeth everyone has lost and she was (I think) the only one in her class that hadn't lost a tooth yet.  Finally, she made it :)  Just yesterday, she lost the one right beside it!

Not only has she hit these "first" milestones, but she is doing so well in school.  She loves math (definitely doesn't take after me) and she is doing well with writing and reading.  She just picked out a chapter book at the Book Fair to read over the summer.  She said, "I have to keep practicing over the summer, Mom.  This big book will help me."   Next week will be her last day of Kindergarten!!

And while thinking of my baby girl growing up makes me a little sad, it also makes me really happy.  I see the young woman that she is becoming.  She is learning important truths and truly understanding what life is really about. 

Just this past Saturday, Ella received Christ as her Savior!!  I cannot explain to you the joy this brought me.  This was a day that I have been praying for since the day she was born. 

To be honest, I always wondered how our kids would be affected growing up in a "ministry" family (Eric was a youth pastor for 5 years and now we are missionaries.) They see the good, bad, and ugly associated with this.  Also, they hear the Gospel pretty much on a daily basis (not a bad thing I know) but a part of me was concerned that they would never make a distinction between knowing the facts and actually knowing Christ as their Savior. 

But Saturday night proved to be one of the best days of my life.  Eric and Ella were outside playing in our little swimming pool and Ella said, "Daddy, I'm ready to believe in Jesus."  They started to talk and he asked her some questions.  Finally, Eric said, "Let's get out of the pool and go talk to momma."  So, they came in and she began to talk to me.

She said, "I wanna believe in Jesus.  I want to live for Him and worship Him."  She prayed the sweetest, most sincere prayer I have ever heard.  She began to cry and she said, "Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross to take my sin away.  I love you.  I want to live for you.  Help me to live for you tomorrow, and when I'm a big kid, and when I'm a momma.  I want to teach my kids to live for you too."  There was more, but you get the point.  It was a really precious moment that I'm so glad I got to be a part of!!!

She went to school Monday morning and told her entire class that she was a Christian now and she was going to be baptized. She also has a friend in her class that is a Christian, and they decided together that they were going to pray before lunch everyday!! 

Even though she is growing up, I'm excited for the big girl that I get to see grow in her relationship with Jesus and show others her love for him!!  I know God has big things in store for her!!

Man, I love that girl so much and am so blessed to get to be her momma!!