When I turned around…

We had the Christmas dress argument this morning.  The one that goes like this:

Me:  Ellee, pick a dress to wear to church today.  Pick any dress, BUT your Christmas dress (I literally say those words).

Ellee:  Please Mommy, PLEASE can I PLEASE wear my Christmas dress?

Me:  No!  Any dress, but that one.

Ellee:  But I LOVE that dress.  It’s SO pretty.  Please can I wear it?

And so on.

Thankfully, she ended up with a different dress, but those are the clothing conversations I have with our daughter these days.

And then, this afternoon, when I turned around, she was wearing this on her head.

And she had fashioned herself a new skirt out of some material that I had picked up at a yard sale for 25 cents.  And I just had to smile.  Because our daughter is gaining a fashion sense all her own.  Granted, the sweet girl has been wearing dresses her entire life (her choice, not mine, which brings about the “Please just wear jeans, it’s WINTER!” argument).  But lately, she is becoming more opinionated and more creative with her fashion styles.

And there are times that I will say “no” to some of her creations, especially if we are going out, or to church, (though I’m sure that God doesn’t care so much about her outfits.  I know He cares most about her heart).  But for the most part, I have to be thankful, that up until this point, these are the only things that I have to deal with when it comes to clothes.  Raising a daughter in this day and age, I’m sure that the other clothing arguments will be coming.  Ones that will deal with much bigger issues, but till then, I want to learn to let go a little.  To let her be confident in who she is and in what she wants to wear.

I’ll continue to teach her that her heart matters most.  I think for the most part, she knows that because goodness knows I sure tell her that a lot.  And I’ll also continue to pick up fabrics for her to create with, so that we can nurture her strengths and creativity.  Tonight, as I sit her and write, I just want to say that I’m so thankful for our precious girl and for her fun fashions.