Miss Ava

 
  I thought I would just take a little minute to blog about my Ava. She is the sweetest thing, and I just love her. We have our battles, but I have learned so much from her. She just loves to "snuggle" and has one of the most sensitive souls I have ever met. She is very tender hearted, which has taught me how to be more caring and compassionate. She will walk around the house and just make up little songs, and I can't help but smile at her active imagination. I love to hear the conversations her Barbies have, and she has taken to carrying a bazillion stuffed animals around, or I usually find them lined up somewhere...

 
     But what I love most about Ava is her simple testimony. She loves her Father in Heaven.  Every time we say a prayer (which is breakfast, lunch, dinner, before bed, and before FHE) she quickly raises her hand and volunteers. I love to watch her face as she prays because she scrunches up her nose and really thinks about what she is saying. Her prayers are becoming longer and more personal. The other day, she fell and scraped her knee pretty bad. We came home and cleaned it up, and then she looked at me and said, "Mom, we need to say a prayer for my knees." I told her that was a great idea, and asked her if she wanted to say it, and surprisingly, she said no. She wanted me to say it. Well, this was kind of hard because I knew her knees weren't going to be instantly healed the minute we were done praying, so I prayed that she would be comforted and that she wouldn't feel anymore pain. When we were done, she told me her knees felt better and that Jesus healed them. The rest of the day she walked around telling me how Jesus healed her knees. We were opening our bank account here, and she even told the guy that was helping us about her knees. :)
     I was impressed that she knew she could turn to prayer when she was hurt and that her Father in Heaven cares about her, even when it's just a little scraped knee. She knows He loves her.
    That single event was a huge eye opener for me. Ava really does watch what Nate and I do. She listens to the words we say, even when we don't know she's listening. I realized that I am doing more for her than I thought I was.

 
  I learned that I need Ava more than she needs me. I need her simplicity, her faith, her tenderness, and I even need her playful side to lighten me up a bit. :) I love her little hugs and the fact that whenever we go somewhere, she is right by my side.