Miss M

Here are the words I would use to describe Miss M:

Sweet

Kind

Loving

Caring

Sensitive

Tender

Helpful

Obedient

Pure-hearted

Organized

Peacemaker

Sharing

Unselfish

Hard working

Christlike

A Blessing to our family

I know that children go through phases. Some times are harder than others. Some of my children demand more from me. A couple of them require more of my emotional energy. Another requires more help physically. Miss M is at a heavenly stage. She is my helper in the truest sense of the word. I have come to really rely on her.

Miss M is independent. She is diligent and almost always doing something productive. After quiet time one day, she showed me her newly re-organized closet and dresser drawers. She says,

"I'm really good at folding - I just have a hard time with the underwear. Oh, and the socks, too."

Yesterday, she went downstairs. I thought she was playing or coloring. No, she was actually making her brother's beds!

M loves to work. When I was cleaning out the garage, she cheerfully asked if she could help. She grabbed a broom and started working. She was so happy and kept saying, "Isn't this so much fun?" I love it! She also loves to sort the laundry. When I send the kids to the playroom to clean up for the day, Miss M does most of the work. She does it quickly and she does it the right way. That says a lot because the play room reaches disastrous levels of messiness almost daily.

She obeys the first time. M is a parent's dream! Especially if that parent is a slightly OCD clean freak who has lots of young kids and deals with high levels of chaos each day. Usually when everyone else is fighting or screaming or whining, M is quietly doing what is asked and causing no trouble. (I'm not kidding, folks.)

M is very loving with her siblings, and shares her love freely. Even when the younger ones are grumpy or don't return her affection, she continues to give it. When one of them gets hurt, she is quick to give kisses and comfort. If another sibling wants something that she has, she quickly gives it to them. She is happy when she makes others happy. She is also great at sharing. Tonight at dinner, there was only one piece of garlic bread left. M got it. J was sad cause he wanted it. So she said, "Hey, I can break it in half!" Most nights, she reads stories to her little brother while I am running around trying to settle things down for bed time.

M's happiness is contagious. It doesn't take much to make her happy. She is easy going and generally very flexible. Her smile is so sweet and really portrays her joyful heart

M's has a sweet tooth like her mom. She loves yummy breakfasts almost as much as she enjoys a good dessert. None of these wimpy fruit desserts for my daughter. She knows a good chocolate dessert when she sees one. That's my girl.

At church, I don't hear a peep from Miss M. She is reverent and colors quietly so I can hear the speakers. Well, at least I could hear the speakers if she were my only child. :)

I have loved seeing M's progress during this past school year! We worked together each afternoon on reading. She took off on her own, and is now a proficient reader. She was the top reader in her class and instead of reading in a group of kids at her level, she would read with the teacher because there were no other kids who could read at her level. When volunteering in her classroom, I loved seeing her quietly stay on task. She helped other students often and served as an example to them.

Speaking of example, M truly desires to do what's right. She understands the importance of obeying the commandments and the happiness that will come as a result. She understands modesty and was explaining that principle to her school teacher. Later, the teacher approached me and said she'd never had a Kindergartner tell her about modesty before! Even when she sees girls dancing on the Disney Channel, I hear her tell her siblings, "Those girls are not modest."

She is a cute little dancer. I love watching her and she enjoys learning new things. She has a quiet confidence about her that I admire.

Her prayers are most sincere. I know she has faith in God and Jesus Christ. Recently, I passed her room and saw her sitting and reading the scriptures. She said, "I want to learn the scriptures I don't know yet."

M and I have a special relationship. She calls me "M" for short. The other day, I was feeling very stressed and overwhelmed. I sat down on the couch and ... I couldn't help it ... I started to cry. She saw the tears streaming down my cheeks. She came over, gave me a hug and said, "What would make you feel better?"

That is my sweet Miss M.

Age five, and a blessing to our family.

I adore her and am lucky to be her mom!