Madalynn: The many Spaghetti faces of Madalynn

She is a beautiful, wonderfully made, charismatic little princess.

And when I say "princess," I mean princess! I'm not referring to one of those little girls who like to play dress up and act like a princess. I'm talking about an honest to goodness, tiara-wearing, legitimate princess - or so Madalynn is convinced. Of course, Mike and I encourage this behavior. What we didn't take into account was the zeal with which she would embrace her faux royalty (the "faux" part is just between you and me, of course, as Madalynn will hear none of that). Madalynn truly believes that she is special. I have to admit that I love this quality about my daughter because it is a stark contrast to what I believed about myself when I was a child. It took me years (okay, maybe decades) to walk with the confidence and love for myself that Madalynn so naturally has. I am determined to never squash this quality in her that the world outside has such a tendency to temper.

While some might think that allowing Madalynn to believe she's a princess will cause her to grow up with an inflated ego, I believe we're simply reinforcing to her the way that God sees her (you and me, for that matter). I can't imagine a better start in life for her than knowing who she is in Gods eyes. Not only is Madalynn the apple of her Daddy's eye; she is beautifully, wonderfully made, a royal princess in her Heavenly Father's eye. Having said that, if how we think influences the reality of our walk in life; then I wish I could have grown up with Madalynns same princess outlook on life.

Aug 20, 2009

The many Spaghetti faces of Madalynn

She went for it. Today I saw a glimpse of a decisive, no-hold-barred personality, which is blossoming more everyday. She wanted something and she reached out and took it.

Her daddy like any hypochondriac who squirts so much hand sanitizer on himself that he probably personally keeps the GermX company afloat; almost had a full on heart attack when he saw her floating in this pool of Spaghetti. Mikes affection for her was still so great that it outweighted even his most powerful and fundamental fear: germs the kinds that one can see and even worse, UnSeeN Germs.

Love is a notoriously hard thing to define. Western poets have been at it for a good millennium and still there is no consensus on just what it is that defines this most powerful connection between one human being and another. But for a germaphobe, there could be no better definition than this: When you truly love someone, you can peal away the layers of slobber and tomato sauce just for a Welcome Home Daddy baby kiss.