I intend to use my blog for more personal stories in 2014. So bear with me as this is not exactly scrapbook or paper related. In fact, it’s 100% sentimental and mostly written for my own benefit. (I can’t say I won’t do an album with these ‘beautiful stories‘ at the end of the year, but we’ll see.) So let’s start…

Every day I’m thankful that she’s in my life. I don’t even remember what I was doing before her… or why, most importantly. It sounds so cliché but it’s true for me. I love having a purpose. And she’s it.

Having Ada has forced me to change and inspired me to change even more so. I want to be better for her. To succeed for her. To build a safe world around her and shield her from all the bad and sad things.

I miss her every minute I’m not with her. I’m not exaggerating.

When she was a baby I didn’t miss her like that when she wasn’t in sight. I worried instead. Worried about her sleep, her meals, if she was too hot or too cold. And I was just surviving myself (I know that’s a pretty dramatic statement but I tell you, I was so bad at being home on maternity leave…).

Now she’s 3 years old and I don’t worry all that much (at least I don’t constantly have a lump in my throat anymore). Not worrying all the time has left room to miss her and love her and really see her instead. She’s so incredibly strong. I’m amazed at how she takes on the world with an open-mindedness and eagerness you only see in children.

She’s thriving. And that means more than anything to me.

25 Beautiful Things is a blog series about appreciating the little and big things in life. I think about this a lot and want to share some of these thoughts with you throughout 2014. There’s just so much to be thankful for. If you’d like to share something you’re especially thankful for right now, I’d love to hear about it in the comments.