she's a funny one

Here are some random fun things my big girl has said this week...

• After Rachel begged Jarrad for "hugs & kisses," which he granted, he closed the door behind him--off to work. She looked at me and said, "He will give you hugs & kisses tonight, Mommy. Don't be fuh-stuh-wated."
• Mommy: "We can't go by the Farmers Market, because they don't take credit cards." Rachel: "What? Shin guards?"
• Pointing to her shoulders, she matter-of-factly declares: "My arms are stuck to my side. So I can reach stuff. That's just how they hafta be."

I wish I could capture her animation in written form. Her mannerisms are so much like her daddy's, but she's a bit dramatic in her day-to-day--more like her mommy. She's so very sure of herself, and loves to "teach" me things. After spending a week with my mom, who taught Rachel to look for the 'in-step' of her shoe and that of her foot to decide which shoe belongs on which foot, Rachel spent several days teaching me the same lesson. Every time she picked up a shoe, she pointed out the 'in-step,' saying, "See, Mommy? See the in-step? You hafta look for the in-step," each time with a lot of emphasis on 'in-step'--as if to show off her new, grown-up vocabulary.

As I'm typing this, Rachel is hopping up and down on one foot and saying, "Look, Mommy--I can stand on one foot easily. See?"

We have also been reading a lot in her Big Picture Story Bible, which she is understanding and enjoying much more now. She asks great questions about the stories and about God and Jesus and heaven. I love to see her trying to figure out these mysteries that even the wisest cannot grasp, and I get emotional telling her about the great sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf, just because He loves us so much. And it's humbling to tell her that He would have done it still, even if she had been the only person in the world, just because He loves HER so much. What a mighty God we serve.