Ode To Lizzie

My little girl is 12! She has been eagerly awaiting this day for…12 years! No, I’m kidding, it just seems that way. This last year of waiting to be twelve has been torture. Twelve means the following things for Lizzie (not in order of importance): She gets to wear makeup and dangly earrings, she gets to babysit other people’s children and go to the Young Women’s program at church for girls ages 12-18, and she is old enough to go to the temple. All such wonderful and exciting things!

So what is Lizzie like at 12? Today I got to introduce her to the other girls in the Young Women’s program at church. I got two minutes but could have taken an hour to describe this incredible daughter o’ mine. So here I go…

Lizzie. Sweet Lizzie. Twelve years ago you were born 7 weeks early. You weighed 5 lbs 10 oz. Your birth was induced because you were dangerously anemic. (A blood incompatibility.) Seconds after you were born you were placed on my chest, next to my heart and I was allowed to hold you for what I think was less than a minute. I was totally smitten by your tiny perfection. Then you were whisked away by the huge team of doctors and nurses that were waiting to take care of you. You were given a blood transfusion and then spent a month in the hospital to grow and to learn how to breath and eat. You were the sweetest little thing, though you looked like a giant in the NICU with all those other preemies. (Some who weighed less than two pounds!) That month of waiting for you to come home was probably much like the last month has been for you waiting to turn twelve! It seemed to last for an eternity. Every little thing was a celebration, when you ate by yourself, when you breathed by yourself, your first poopy diaper…

Finally, you came home to parents who welcomed and loved you from the very first time they layed eyes on you, and to a brother who was somewhat dubious about this little thing that had come to take some of the attention from him. Thankfully he overcame his doubts and within minutes accepted you enough to give you one of his binkies, a gesture of true love from a 14 month old! Though he is your biggest tormentor, you have been friends from that day on.

You were the perfect second baby. You were very content to watch the world around you. Part of that was because with Sam as your big brother, there was hardly a dull moment. I love this picture of you with our first pet, Kevin. Even with a cat on your back you were content, contemplative and quiet.


You have always loved to lay on the ground and soak in the world. There were many times I actually found you face down in the grass or sand doing your observing.(The first time I found you face down scared me to death!)

You have always been observant. You are the first one in our family to notice beauty and to point it out. When you were about three you noticed an interesting way that the lights would shine on the back window of our van when we drove anywhere in the dark and you called them, “Dancing Plates!” I hope I remember until my dying day your delighted tone each time you saw them. You have also always been VERY creative. You beautify and enrich the world around you.

Lizzie saw real potential in a wet car window and some random leaves laying around

Your creativity also enriches and beautifies the world for William and Anna. When you play with them, the possibilities for entertainment, nay, enchantment are endless! Seeing you play with Anna, while you were dressed up as the fairy queen, Elianna, is always a treat (Technically, since I am a grown-up and grown-ups can’t see fairies, I couldn’t really see you). You are delightful around children. You have a wonderful caring and nurturing nature. You can coax a reluctant Anna to clean her room better than anyone else in the family! (I call this your powers.)

Your creativity is also exhibited in your art. You are an incredible artist, and have won almost every art contest you have entered. You use your art to delight your siblings, to praise and uplift. I am so thankful you inherited this gift though I feel sorry that you don’t have much time to cultivate it.

Speaking of talents… You have been given so many gifts! You are very bright and do well in school. Schoolwork is easy for you and you rarely have to try to get good grades, but you also have a good work ethic so when things get a little challenging you rise to to occasion. You know you can do hard things and you do them all of the time!

You are an amazing dancer with real heart. You started Irish dancing at the age of 5. You are so good at it. I remember years ago before one competition (called Feis) I had been encouraging you to practice daily. You went to the feis and got seven medals! As we were leaving with the medals clinking around your neck you said, “See mom! I don’t need to practice!” You have also recently started ballet and are doing very well in that too. Your goal for dance is to be a part of B.Y.U’s Folk Dance tour team when you go to collage.

You love to dance so much that you dance everywhere we go and even when you are supposed to be doing other things! (cello practicing) The following is a video we took a couple months after you started to play the cello. You’ve got the moves even when you are just messing around!

You started to play the cello when you were eight. You have talent but are not quite as passionate about it as you are about dance. You make beautiful music when you feel it. I love to listen to you play.

Your other passions include: horses, ice cream, reading, and playing with your friends. You are exceptionally friendly and kind and can make friends anywhere you go.

Lizzie, age 9 making friends with another competitor during her first triathlon

You have been friends with Rachel and Danielle Saxey since we moved here nearly 10 years ago. I have enjoyed seeing your creative play through the years. Not only are you guys friends but you are business partners as well. You have had what seems like thousands of lemonade stands, a pie selling fundraiser, and two summer day camps for neighborhood children.

One of the things I appreciate most about you is your desire to do what is right. You are very honest with others and with yourself which will help you in your life in so many ways. You announced this summer that you plan on serving as a missionary for our church. You will be an amazing missionary (whether you go to Ireland or not!) because you have a huge heart. You love others so much you want to share with them what has made you happy. You love God so much you want to serve him by serving his children. You have an amazing testimony of prayer (having had experiences seeking and gaining answers to prayers). Dad and I are so proud of the efforts you are making to develop your own relationship with your Heavenly Father and to gain your own testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that God is proud of you too. You are an example to all of us.

Lizzie, I am thankful every day that you are my daughter. You are a gift, a treasure. I am the luckiest of mothers to be able to watch you grow. You are turning into such a lovely young woman inside and out who will one day be an incredible, beautiful woman and mother. Thank you for the efforts you are making to develop your mind, talents and spirit. Thank you for the joy and enthusiasm for life you bring into our family. We love you sweet girl! Happy 12th Birthday!