I seem to be constantly writing posts about Tessa in my mind. The things she says and does often make me smile. She is sweet, soft and funny and a little bit of crazy and quirky all balled into one. Ken says that she is so like me and I love that. I regret not writing down the things she has said in the last while. Now that I'm here, I don't have the words.
The thing I love most about her is how much she loves me. Even if I leave for 10 minutes, she runs to me when I get home and hugs my leg and tells me how much she missed me and how much she loves me. She tells me multiple times a day that she loves me soooooooooooo much!!!!! Often when she tells me, she will kiss my leg.
The picture below was taken on a Saturday afternoon a few months ago. The sun was shining and it was chilly. We grabbed my pillow and a warm blanket, put some music on and had a nap on the trampoline. I woke up because she had one hand on my face and the other on my throat. haha. But it's beautiful. Since the first day she was born, she would touch my face when she sleeps with me. There is sweetness in that, but I remember that when she was little, I would be so touched out that I wanted to run away to get some space. There is such thing as too much of a good thing. (: She told me the other day that she would move to Pluto with me if I wanted to go. Sometimes we ask - If you could be an animal, which one would you be? If her and I pick different animals, after a few minutes she will switch to mine. In no imaginary sphere can we be different species because it would mean that we wouldn't be together. (: She loves me when we are together, but still does very well on her own. I'm thankful for this. Being so loved is a gift to me. As I write this, I hear her saying to Ken in the livingroom- I love my whole family. But I love you and mom the best. You are my parents and you are the best. You help keep me safe from strangers..... She's a funny girl.
I love her shoes. I am working on buying every size of these shoes used. They suit her personality and she feels good in them. We were getting ready to go to the doc to get her chin looked at here. She smashed her chin on the floor at church a few weeks ago. It was huge and weird. She loves going to the doc and loves getting x-rays even more. She does it like a champ.
Tessa Jayne Pennings is not a fan of clothes. She likes to wrap herself in this pink blanket or wear one of Natalie's old fuzzy grey sweaters. It covers her whole body. She sleeps in it. Since only Tessa, Grace and I are home through the day, I sometimes let her wear her fuzzy sweater or allow her to take off her clothes in the afternoon and wrap herself in her blanket. If she could live in her underwear, she would. She is all Van Dyk in most areas, but especially this one.
She also has trouble sleeping in her bed all night. So sometimes in the early morning, she takes her blanket, pillow, sweater and Micah's big stuffy dog and she crawls into a hole that we have in the living room in between our couches and bookcase. She is a funny bunny. A month ago on a Sunday morning was one of the first times she did this. I couldn't find her anywhere that morning. I was pretty calm at first. I looked in every bed and every room in the house. My mind was telling me that she had to be here somewhere. I was tired and my body was already running pretty high anxiety wise and realizing that I couldn't find her made my adrenaline spike. I started crying ugly tears. Ken found her in the hole under a big blue blanket. So now I know where to look for her. (: I'm fine with the hole. She has figured out a way to sleep in the early mornings and it doesn't involve my bed. I have done my years with her. ha. This is her this morning. It was dark when I took this picture, so it's a bit off.
Tessa loves animals and babies. She ooh's and ahh's and squeals over anything that can be cuddled. Her little heart bursts with joy. We have 3 cats and now Natalie got a guinea pig-Senor Piggy. I have been slow to buy Christmas presents this year. I Have. Not. Bought. One. Eeek. She just asked me to scratch her whole list and buy her a guninea pig. If anyone has a large cage to fit 2 or 3 piggies, let me know, I'm in the market. lol. She loves watching animals videos. The other day, we saw a mom monkey holding her baby on a pole in the middle of the water, with crocs underneath. Tessa wailed when she saw that. There was no way that mom was going to be able to keep her or her baby safe. If we talk about it she still gets tears in her eyes. She is so tender and I will need to be more careful with what nature we watch. Reality is good, but thats a bit too much reality for her heart.
Tessa values her family. She didn't spend a lot of time with Josh and Micah, but she still felt a loss when the boys left in September and October. Micah went off to Redemmer for his second year and Josh got married in October. The first time Micah came home, Josh was still here and she said - That's better. This is how it's supposed to be. Now when Micah comes home, she asks where Josh is. Being with the orginal 8 and now with Riley to make it 9, is the ultimate for her. There are advantages to the boys being gone. She moved out of our closet. Haha. That's a big deal. She has lived in our 9 by 8 closet since she was a baby. It has no window, but it was plenty big and it wasn't actually in our room. We shared a main door, but to go to the closet is straight through and to go into our acutal room you turn right. So it worked. But it's wasn't ideal. So she really benefitted from the space of 2 less men in our home. But she would pick having them here if she could choose. They are her men.
Josh's wedidng was Tessa's dream come true. Her dress was perfect. Her shoes were perfect. She was so well behaved. She asked me what her job was the day before. I told her it was to listen to directions for pictures and to do what ever people told her to do, to not spill on her dress and enjoy herself. She said: I will make this the best wedding ever!!! Ha. She told the hairdresser that she better go quicker with her hair because she didn't want to miss the wedding. She did a great job. My only regret was her hair. It was a little longer than normal and we got it curled and it all fell before pictrures were done. I should have cut it and worked with her natural curls. Her hair makes her not look like her. She was cute, but just different.(: She felt like a princess and she was in her element. It was so fun. I need to do a wedding post. It was one of the best days of my life. Seriously. It was so special. There are no words to describe what it's like to watch one of your kids get married.
Her zest for life is so special to me especially in this harder season (for me). I need it. Everything is so wonderful and exciting to her. I'm so thankful to have my 2 girls home yet. Homeschooling is such a gift in so many ways. I just started to write all of the reasons and beauty, but I think that is a separate post! (:
Tessa is always ready for adventure. I just laughed outloud looking at this picture. She is very excited for sledding. She declared herself ready when she found this in the hats and mitts bucket. I can just picture her flying down the hills with the big kids.
The plan for this post was to write a series of her funny sayings, but my mind has drawn a blank. I think I like this better. It will help me remember my Tessi and share with you my love for her. (:
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