my little dreamer.

there’s really no way around it.  my allie, my middle baby, my sweet daughter is just about the girliest girl you will ever meet.  this is the one who loves all things pink, loves dressing up in princess costumes, loves shoes and purses, loves putting hairpins on her teddy bears and dolls, loves accessories, and would wear a dress (the frillier the better) every single day if i let her.

and you know what?  i love that about her.  though i don’t know where she gets this girlyness from, i love that i get to share it with her.  i love the look of joy on her face when i pull out a new dress for her to wear.  i love how she never objects to my putting ribbons or bows in her long hair.  mostly, i just love watching her enjoy being a little girl.

her latest obsession?  planning her dream wedding.  i had heard of girls who dreamed of their wedding day since they were little.  for whatever reason, i just was never one of them.  wait, i do remember pretending the curtains were a veil on my head, but that’s as far as i got.  and now, i have a little wedding planner living in my house.  as allie informed us last night, “i’m going to have a pink barbie cake for my wedding.  and i’m going to get my dress from costco.  and shoes and a necklace, too.”  phil seemed rather intrigued with this plan as a wedding planned entirely from costco would not be nearly as expensive as he’s been dreading.  when i asked who she was planning on marrying, she matter-of-factly answered, “daddy, of course!”  phil thought this was an odd turn of events, not realizing that every little girl should be so blessed to have a daddy who is her ideal man.  a daddy who tells her she’s beautiful and loved just the way she is.  a daddy who loves to hear her stories and see her drawings.  a daddy who is her hero.

and this morning, as i was brushing her hair, i asked her if she liked being a big sister or a little sister (since she is both).  she answered, “a big sister and i can’t wait to get married!”  with feigned sadness i said, “but then you’d have to leave us when you get married.”  allie cheerfully replied, “no i don’t, because daddy’s coming with me!  and you’ll still have mikey and lauren and my new baby brother to keep you company, too.”  and so in her world, all was good to go.

so while my little girl goes on dreaming about her wedding day, i realize i need to be just as intent about praying for her real marriage someday (and for the marriages of each of our children, but this post in particular is for my little dreamer girl).  Lord willing, that He would bring the right young man in to her life in His perfect time.  that he would be a man with a deep and abiding love for the Lord, that he would desire to help her grow in holiness, that he would seek to love and cherish her as Christ loves the church.

in the meantime, i pray that we, her parents, would daily be pointing her to Christ and to help her grow into a beautiful woman with a quiet and gentle spirit who is pleasing in His sight.  and i am deeply humbled by this thought as i realize (especially lately, hoo boy) how much i fall short in this calling.  deeply humbled but also deeply grateful as i remember that Christ is sufficient for all that i lack.  Christ, who loves her infinitely more than i do even on my best day, is sufficient for allie and will never let her down.  and so i cling to this precious truth as we remember again all that Christ is for us this Christmastime when we rejoice in Immanuel, God with us.

but for now, if you’ll excuse me, i’m going to go hang on to my girlie’s littleness just a while longer.  🙂