Lists of 2011 - #5

Listography #5 - 10 Things I Love About My Daughter(s)

I am so blessed to have three wonderful daughters who are now mamas themselves.  We are friends as well as mother and daughters and I treasure each of them.  I could definitely write a unique list for each one but these are things that apply to all of them - and I thought writing 30 reasons might be a bit much :)

1.   They walk closely with God and encourage and inspire me on my faith journey.

2.   Mothering has been a natural and joyous time for them.  Yes, they feel frustrated and sleep deprived and overwhelmed but they love their littles with every fiber of their being - and are fierce protectors and advocates of all children.  I am so very proud of them for this!

3.  Physical activity is an important part of their days and they exercise diligently, whether it's to a video or outside running, pushing kids in the jog stroller or doing seasonal sports.  This is an area of my life that I never really developed and it's essential, especially as we age, so I know they will be committed to these activities, even when they are old - like me!

4.  Preparing good food is a talent that they all have worked at and developed.  It's always delicious when we get to eat together and they are great experimenters with new foods and new recipes.

5.   They love to read and I know that they like to get books as gifts.  I also love that they read lots with their little ones.  One of my most basic beliefs is the importance of reading to children and the huge  impact that will have on their success at school.  And I loved to read to our kids when they were little so I'm glad that they are continuing that tradition.

6.  Each one is creative in her very own way.  Naomi is the grower of plants and picker of flowers, Melinda is the creative writer, and Heather is the photographer of all of us.  They all have similar interests and dreams about other creative endeavors but these are particular strengths that I see right now.  And I love that they recognize just how important creativity really is to happiness.

7.  My daughters come from a long line of women who care about others and share by giving of themselves and what they have in the cupboard, the fridge, the oven and the garden.   And I see them passing this trait of giving on to their children as they help others and volunteer in their communities.

8.  I love how faithful they are about staying in touch with me.  Emails, notes, cards, phone calls, blog posts - I love hearing from them!

9.  Caring for the environment is important to them.  They recycle and compost and thrift and hand down and re-purpose things.

10.  They all have our love of travel and would go on an adventure at every opportunity.  I hope that one day soon we can have a girls trip away - and of course we'll include our daughter(their sister)-in-law too!

As I wrote this I was thinking about our daughter-in-law and realized that all of these are reasons that I admire her too!!  Well, #2 is still to come for her but she's a much loved auntie already :)


These are two of my favourite pictures of our girls when they were little!

This picture was taken in 1985 with Bob's mom (on the right) and her mom (on the left).  We have very few pictures of our children with their great-grandparents who were all gone before the kids got to be very old.  

This is a very favourite old family picture that was taken one Sunday when we were off to have a picnic.  The girls were pretending to be at the Olympics, standing on the medals podium!!