Goodbye Fear...Hello Love!

You may remember me mentioning that a certain little someone is terrified of baths. 

In fact. She doesn't even like water to so much as touch her. ESPECIALLY her head.

I tried everything I could think of to make the experience tolerable for her...

But nothing.

UNTIL!

It was one of those rare occasions when I was taking a turn in the bathtub. 

Sam was sitting on the floor (not) playing with the toys I'd brought in to entertain her. I slipped into the tub to quickly rinse off when, lo and behold, someone became very curious!

She inched her way closer...and then closer...to see what Mommy was doing. 

(This might be a good place to note that Sam does not usually crawl to get things she wants. If you set her down on the floor and walk into another room to get something, when you return you will find her right where you left her.)

Before I knew it, she had pulled herself up to a stand on the side of the bathtub.

This is obviously a reenactment :)

Then she was leaning over the side of the tub and SPLASHING the water.

Next thing I knew her feet were about to leave the ground...she was ready to DIVE in!!!

So I quickly undressed her and set her in the tub where she splashed and played like this bath was the most fun she's ever had!!

Now, miracle of miracles (!), bath time is Samantha's most favorite time of day. It is incredible to watch her take the initiative to splash the water, lean back and take deep breaths, and wiggle with delight. 

We've even played in the water outside of the tub, just for fun! This is the longest I've ever seen this girl play independently. I think we're onto something here...

Even beyond this victory over water, I have to report that Samantha is blossoming in every way. Truly, she is nothing short of a miracle.

• She is loving food of every kind.
• She is smiling more and rocking and ticking less each day.
• She is learning how to look to Mom for comfort and help.
• Her adorably squishy feet are firming up from all of the standing up she has been doing. 
• And she is growing like a weed! Three weeks ago, she looked so fragile that I literally felt I might break her. Today she weighed in at 25 lbs 13 oz. That is a weight gain of almost four pounds!! Her weight is even starting to spread out from her belly to her limbs.

Stepping back and looking at my life (I should say our life) right now, I can hardly believe that God chose me for this job. Seriously.

This life is better and more fulfilling than I could have imagined.

In fact, I feel a bit guilty when people say such nice things to me about what a great thing I'm doing for Sam. Because, in all honestly, being Sam's mommy has hardly been a sacrifice.

I am being blessed, friends. And I am being changed for the good.

I would do this all over again in a heartbeat, having learned what it takes.

Love.

His kind.

And I've got love to spare. Right now I'm trading my love for the opportunity to watch Sam come alive.

It doesn't get much better than that.

Love to all of you.

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. 2 Corinthians 4:7