leah & the princess

*wish I could get my music player fixed on here 'cause this would be even sweeter if it had music behind it. enjoy anyway.

"Mommy, I want to watch the princess get married again"

She's not talking about Cinderella or Ariel any other princess movie (none of which she has ever seen). She means . . . . me.

Leah was just pointing to a family photo from my wedding day, one that has been framed there since before she was born, but she finally asked to hold it. So, I got it down from the shelf . . . and she was so mesmorized with "the princess" that I went ahead and got out the big album. We walked through every page and she pointed to each face and named them or asked who they were. She recognized Granmommy & Grandaddy, Gran & Papoo but not Nancy (a blonde in 2002). She saw Unlce Jeff & Aunt Kelly (asked about the boys who were just 2 at the time and stayed at home with a sitter that night). She squealed at Courtney, Christy, & Sheli and asked where all of her friends are (meaning all of their kids - who obviously go everywhere with them & should have been in the photo). Then the best question of all . . . "Where's Leah Mommy?"

I just tried to explain, to a two year old who imagines that everything in her world started when she did, that she wasn't there beacsue God hadn't given her to us yet. Explaining that Mommy and Daddy got her for Christmas a few years ago and that's why we celebrate with a Birthday party for her (of course we had to take a break from the story at hand to discuss this year's birthday party) . . . .

"Can I see it?" "See what, honey?" "See the princess get married show!"

It never dawned on me that she would believe there to be a "movie" of this princess getting married . . . but somehow she knew there was. So I showed her the rough, home movie style taping of my wedding day and she sat on the sofa and watched every single moment . . . even those long & quite spells between songs, when random people are walking up and down the aisle! And she about jumped off the sofa when she saw 3 very important men from her world, walking to the front of the chapel. It's a grainy picture but she was thrilled to recognized Jeff, Papoo & "and there's my daddy!"

Who would have thought at that very moment, 6 years later this sweet little scene would be playing out in our Suwanee living room. "Oooooooooooooh, look at Daddy" She absolutly adores him and I bet she thinks he's the most handsome man she's ever seen! I know I do, and that's exactly what I believed about my own Daddy.

Then, just as the "ladies in red" (my beautiful bridesmaids) walked down the aisle she began to count them . . . "you have lots of friends mommy!" Indeed I do Leah! And I thank God for each one of them! Then "there's fancy again" only because we have now comes to terms that the blondie IS in fact Aunt Nancy!

"Where's the Princess?"

And then . . . here comes the bride. "There she is, there she is . . . . oooooooh, her dress is like mine" (meaning her Cinderella halloween costume - in her mind anyway). And it wasn't until there was a close up shot of Grandaddy (my dad) handing me over to Michael, that she changed expression. I realized that until now, she really didn't know that the princess was me! I guess she thought it was a "show" or dress-up. "mommy?" I could hear the question in her voice but I didn't say anything while she got all of these thoughts together in her little head. "Mommy, you make a very beautiful princess and I absolutly LOVE your dress " (lingo & emphasis just as her favorite Eloise character says it). So I explained that I married Daddy and we lived in a different house for 3 years until God brought us here and gave us Leah and then Preston and I have that same dress upstairs for her to play with someday . . . .

Now here's the best part of this whole emotional moment in time . . . "Mommy, can I get married" Yes you can, baby of mine, someday . . .

and so my prayer life has been stepped up a knotch this week as I have begun to earnstly pray for that man (perhaps now just boy) who will take my little girl to have & hold from that day forward! But until 'someday', she's still mine, on loan from heaven and I will remind her of this precious conversation when she meets 'him' . . . someday . . .