I'm feeling kind of nostalgic this week. It has struck me how many milestones my kids have hit this year. Last Sunday, as Stella stood before our church making a public profession of her faith and assenting to her membership vows, I realized that we have crossed the halfway mark in raising our firstborn.
Later that evening, Stephen and I indulged in a peaceful springtime walk - just like we used to when we were dating. We left our capable older children home with their younger siblings while we circled Forest Lane. No strollers, front packs or tricycles. Just the two of us, holding hands like newlyweds, and savoring uninterrupted conversation and rejuvenating laughter. When we arrived home, we found a freshly cleaned dining room - set with fancy dishes, fresh flowers and yogurt parfaits for two. Our big kids realized how much this time meant to us and got caught up in making our evening as romantic as possible.
Little Filia is changing before our very eyes. I have felt many twinges of guilt over my sporadic photos and journal entries. I had determined to capture every sweet memory of her infancy, yet here I am with a six month old, still searching for time to collect my thoughts about her birth. The other evening I was passing Stella's desk, and I noticed a baby's first year calendar lying open. Sighing, I remembered pulling this calendar out of a box of hand me downs and thinking wistfully that it would be great for me to keep up with in those spare moments when I'm not homeschooling three children, teaching at Co-Op, chasing an active toddler, washing diapers, or nursing a newborn. Flipping through this pesky little token of my negligence, I noticed to my surprise and delight that the calendar's pages had been filled with stickers, hospital keepsakes, dates of our baby's milestones, tender little notes and anecdotes - all recorded with painstaking care and love by Stella! I was so touched by this beautiful demonstration of Stella's devotion to her baby sister. Stella has become Filia's second mother. She will carefully choose her baby sister's outfits and dress her in the morning or prop little Filia on her bed with the rest of her dolls or snuggle her in the rocking chair while she crochets. The two of them are already inseparable friends, and the measureless love that the two of them exchange when they grin at each other is one of the sweetest sights I've beheld.
Filia's big brothers also treat her with so much tenderness. I love catching Leo admiring his beautiful sister. The two of them simultaneously break out into their most charming, dimpled grins as Filia rewards him with her babble.
Filia reminds me of my Rus as a baby. Although her eye color is still pretty indistinct, she has her brother's fair skin and light hair. Their baby pictures show so many similarities, and I often wonder if she will share his fun-loving, sweet disposition.
Little Tert, our tornado, takes great delight in making Filia laugh. He has located all of her ticklish spots; however, he can usually cause her to join in his rambunctious laughter just by making silly faces and voices at her. Now that Filia can wiggle and roll on the floor, she will strain to follow his every move as he darts to and fro. She has adapted beautifully to this noisy, unpredictable environment of hers and soaks up constant attention from her doting siblings.
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