The girls are just overwhelmingly growing up. I know that sounds odd...but at 3 years old these triplets seem to be leaping into childhood's next level. Don't get me wrong -- they still return to the two-year-old moments of "Mine!" and "Noooooo!" However, they are growing. It is sometimes scary to me. I'm being completely honest.
Our conversations are more intense. They ask all kinds of questions. They communicate with each other in such a grown up way...my husband said the other night "I was listening to (Tiny) and (FunnyGirl) talking to each other and though 'Wow. They are talking really well and they're having real conversations."
Even their playtime is maturing. Instead of running with baby dolls and throwing them on the floor, they now understand the concept of nurturing them -- Tiny was always doing this, but now they each place the babies in a bed, neatly cover them, "calm" them, and insist that everyone in the room remain quiet so the baby can sleep. Barbie now exists in many forms in our house -- often times in one of four pink convertibles speeding through the diningroom or kitchen -- blond hair flying and a little girl following her and squealing. "FunnyGirl" told me the other day Barbie had to drive herself to the hospital the other day. She apparently felt ill in the stomach and she doesn't have a husband or a "Ken" to take her, according to FunnyGirl. Apparently this Barbie is not married to Ken yet.
Five-year-old Princess pretends everyone is married. She even has a husband. His name varies, the latest being Ben. She does kick him out of the house overnight to have "sleepovers" with her sisters. And her sisters, too, all have husbands. They must kiss their husbands goodnight when he comes to the door and then he must leave so they can have their slumber party. Each of the four "husbands" show up one right after the other....like seconds. I think my sons-in-law need to just carpool. Anyhow, Tiny sees no need to kiss her husband goodnight. She prefers her taggy blanket and that husband of hers has to deal with it....(sigh).
Saturday night my in-laws and a friend for the family watched the girls while the MY hubby -- the real, live one -- and I met friends for dinner. Apparently Funny Girl asked her Pappy to marry her and did not understand why this was not realistic. She then sulked and would not kiss him good night. For real.
I wonder sometimes why we as little girls obsess over marriage at such a young age.
I had an imaginary husband when I was a kid, but as wierd as it sounded, my pretend husband died at war. I have no idea why my child-like mind thought of that. My sister's childhood husband was a TV character that was not at all "Ken doll" material... in fact he was quite the opposite. I would share his identity but I fear she would kill me. We each had nine kids -- four of our own and four adopted -- think Cabbage Patch kids and the actual adoption papers that came with each one. We also each had an imaginary teenage daughter who helped us out. We all lived under the same roof...my sister was the functional mother who did the cooking, cleaning and disciplining. I worked from home(someone had to give voices to all of those dolls as well as pretend to be that imaginary TV husband!). We were quite creative to say the least. It's funny because as adults the two of us have switched roles. I guess in my mind I never thought I would be married...let alone have four children.
My point is that it is only natural for little girls to want that protective figure in their lives. They see Daddy -- and that is what they want. Some girls see Daddy from a distance -- even though they live in the same house -- and crave that attention naturally and don't get it. Others are unmistakenly "Daddy's Girls" -- like our four -- and want to always have that even when they grow up and move away. The difference between my girls and when my sister and I were girls is that my sister and I went to church but we didn't know the significance of a Heavenly Father. We rarely said the word Jesus...almost never sang "Jesus Loves Me," or knew what it really meant. We dressed up and went to church every Sunday because that is what you do. It wasn't until we were older, had our hearts broken by boys and found friends and family who introduced us to the truth in the Bible -- that we got it.
I now remind my girls at an early age of the importance of God in their lives...we sing "Jesus Loves Me" every night before bed and I explain to them often who He is...in their terms. They ask questions and they want to know more. Princess has been very inquisitive for many years and understood what it meant to ask Jesus in to her life at an early age. At four years old she walke dinto my bedroom one morning and said "Momma, remember you said that when I was ready to ask Jesus into my heart to tell you?"
"Yes..." I never imagined it would be this soon. We had discussed this topic since she was 3. She then -- with all sincerity said "I want to do that." It was 7 a.m. Her sisters were asleep and her dad was downstairs getting brekafast. She was wearing her Tinkerbell nightgown...we knelt on the floor of our old rental bedroom...I explained to her what this meant and she agreed. We prayed and she was so happy...oh -- and so was I! She now at age 5 asks how she can share the gospel with others, and so we find ways like mailing shoeboxes with toys through Operation Christmas Child. She tells people she is praying for them. She shares Bible stories with her sisters.
And now the triplets are nearing this understanding. While they play and pretend they have husbands or they don't -- or Barbie doesn't -- something I have noticed in their play is their growing understanding of a relationship with God. They pray for those baby dolls I mentioned about earlier. They sing "Jesus Loves Me" to them. When they have a boo-boo they ask for prayer. Goldie the other day was scanning through her kids Bible reciting stories outloud to herself. Her favorite is Jonah and the Whale. While her version is a bit off -- she claimes Jonah lived in a tree, fell into a fish and jumped out and said "It's Jesus' turn!" -- she loves to know that God loved Jonah and that He loves her too.
And I began praying for their husbands -- the real ones -- not the imaginary. There are little boys out there who will fall in love with my four girls. I pray they, too, know Jesus and have that relationship -- or at least get to that point before they court my daughters. And I pray they get a husband just like their daddy -- like their pappies -- men who are faithful providers, protectors and promise keepers.
Did I say it was scary how the girls are growing? Yes, it is. I say that only because as they grow they are growing further from us as parents -- it is part of the process. But I know that they can grow closer to their eternal Heavenly Father. That is what matters.
Our conversations are more intense. They ask all kinds of questions. They communicate with each other in such a grown up way...my husband said the other night "I was listening to (Tiny) and (FunnyGirl) talking to each other and though 'Wow. They are talking really well and they're having real conversations."
Even their playtime is maturing. Instead of running with baby dolls and throwing them on the floor, they now understand the concept of nurturing them -- Tiny was always doing this, but now they each place the babies in a bed, neatly cover them, "calm" them, and insist that everyone in the room remain quiet so the baby can sleep. Barbie now exists in many forms in our house -- often times in one of four pink convertibles speeding through the diningroom or kitchen -- blond hair flying and a little girl following her and squealing. "FunnyGirl" told me the other day Barbie had to drive herself to the hospital the other day. She apparently felt ill in the stomach and she doesn't have a husband or a "Ken" to take her, according to FunnyGirl. Apparently this Barbie is not married to Ken yet.
Five-year-old Princess pretends everyone is married. She even has a husband. His name varies, the latest being Ben. She does kick him out of the house overnight to have "sleepovers" with her sisters. And her sisters, too, all have husbands. They must kiss their husbands goodnight when he comes to the door and then he must leave so they can have their slumber party. Each of the four "husbands" show up one right after the other....like seconds. I think my sons-in-law need to just carpool. Anyhow, Tiny sees no need to kiss her husband goodnight. She prefers her taggy blanket and that husband of hers has to deal with it....(sigh).
Saturday night my in-laws and a friend for the family watched the girls while the MY hubby -- the real, live one -- and I met friends for dinner. Apparently Funny Girl asked her Pappy to marry her and did not understand why this was not realistic. She then sulked and would not kiss him good night. For real.
I wonder sometimes why we as little girls obsess over marriage at such a young age.
I had an imaginary husband when I was a kid, but as wierd as it sounded, my pretend husband died at war. I have no idea why my child-like mind thought of that. My sister's childhood husband was a TV character that was not at all "Ken doll" material... in fact he was quite the opposite. I would share his identity but I fear she would kill me. We each had nine kids -- four of our own and four adopted -- think Cabbage Patch kids and the actual adoption papers that came with each one. We also each had an imaginary teenage daughter who helped us out. We all lived under the same roof...my sister was the functional mother who did the cooking, cleaning and disciplining. I worked from home(someone had to give voices to all of those dolls as well as pretend to be that imaginary TV husband!). We were quite creative to say the least. It's funny because as adults the two of us have switched roles. I guess in my mind I never thought I would be married...let alone have four children.
My point is that it is only natural for little girls to want that protective figure in their lives. They see Daddy -- and that is what they want. Some girls see Daddy from a distance -- even though they live in the same house -- and crave that attention naturally and don't get it. Others are unmistakenly "Daddy's Girls" -- like our four -- and want to always have that even when they grow up and move away. The difference between my girls and when my sister and I were girls is that my sister and I went to church but we didn't know the significance of a Heavenly Father. We rarely said the word Jesus...almost never sang "Jesus Loves Me," or knew what it really meant. We dressed up and went to church every Sunday because that is what you do. It wasn't until we were older, had our hearts broken by boys and found friends and family who introduced us to the truth in the Bible -- that we got it.
I now remind my girls at an early age of the importance of God in their lives...we sing "Jesus Loves Me" every night before bed and I explain to them often who He is...in their terms. They ask questions and they want to know more. Princess has been very inquisitive for many years and understood what it meant to ask Jesus in to her life at an early age. At four years old she walke dinto my bedroom one morning and said "Momma, remember you said that when I was ready to ask Jesus into my heart to tell you?"
"Yes..." I never imagined it would be this soon. We had discussed this topic since she was 3. She then -- with all sincerity said "I want to do that." It was 7 a.m. Her sisters were asleep and her dad was downstairs getting brekafast. She was wearing her Tinkerbell nightgown...we knelt on the floor of our old rental bedroom...I explained to her what this meant and she agreed. We prayed and she was so happy...oh -- and so was I! She now at age 5 asks how she can share the gospel with others, and so we find ways like mailing shoeboxes with toys through Operation Christmas Child. She tells people she is praying for them. She shares Bible stories with her sisters.
And now the triplets are nearing this understanding. While they play and pretend they have husbands or they don't -- or Barbie doesn't -- something I have noticed in their play is their growing understanding of a relationship with God. They pray for those baby dolls I mentioned about earlier. They sing "Jesus Loves Me" to them. When they have a boo-boo they ask for prayer. Goldie the other day was scanning through her kids Bible reciting stories outloud to herself. Her favorite is Jonah and the Whale. While her version is a bit off -- she claimes Jonah lived in a tree, fell into a fish and jumped out and said "It's Jesus' turn!" -- she loves to know that God loved Jonah and that He loves her too.
And I began praying for their husbands -- the real ones -- not the imaginary. There are little boys out there who will fall in love with my four girls. I pray they, too, know Jesus and have that relationship -- or at least get to that point before they court my daughters. And I pray they get a husband just like their daddy -- like their pappies -- men who are faithful providers, protectors and promise keepers.
Did I say it was scary how the girls are growing? Yes, it is. I say that only because as they grow they are growing further from us as parents -- it is part of the process. But I know that they can grow closer to their eternal Heavenly Father. That is what matters.
a few months ago my little princess told the kids at the playground that she was going to marry her brother...all of the older kids knew why this was wrong...but as her mommy i didn't like them laughing at her...she'll learn, but she doesn't need them to tear her down for that.
ReplyDeleteanyway, I do SO LOVE watching kids play and seeing how their imaginations soar, and how they try to understand the world through their play.