Orange

When we were pregnant with Elias, we opted to keep his name a secret until he actually arrived. We did things a little different with Elena. Once we decided her nursery theme would be teacups, we offered each friend and family member the opportunity to learn her name early by giving her a teacup for her room. In return, they would get a thank you note signed with her name before she arrived. You would not believe how many teacups she got! Those teacups, along with the notes and words of wisdom that came with them, are some of most precious material possessions in our house. Tonight I was reminded of one of those special cups, and the wonderful family from which it came.
We have crayola bath colors that we use in the bath most nights. Putting the little colored pellet in the water and watching it dissolve is one of the highlights of Elena's evening! I really haven't worked on learning colors with her, but tonight I thought I would ask her what color she wanted. I said "Would you like to have a blue bath?" to which she replied "No thank you". Then I said "How about pink?" Again, "No thank you." Then I tried "Well, do you want yellow?" (there are only those 3 colors of pellets, but sometimes we mix two to make more colors) She thought for a while and then said emphatically, "Orange!" I was a little surprised, because as far as I knew, she doesn't know any color names. (Except for pink- she does ask for "pinky crocs" most days. Still, I thought that was just her name for that pair of crocs rather than that she really understood it was a color.)
As soon as she said "Orange!" I was reminded of this one teacup and the note it came with. I actually dug through the box of notes while Elena was in the bath so that I could reread it. The note was written by the mom, Margaret, but the message is from her daughter, Elaine. Elaine has 3 brothers, so choosing Elena's teacup got to be a special mother/daughter thing. Here is what it says:

Dear Baby Jordan,
What a delight it will be to meet you! This teacup is a gift from Elaine. She chose orange for two reasons. First, orange is her favorite color & she wanted you to know that it is okay to be different. See, most girls choose pink or purple as their favorite color; Elaine has always loved orange! Secondly, Elaine wanted the teacup to remind you to be bold & courageous for the Lord as you grow up. Memorize scripture so that it will help you and the people you meet learn more about God. Joshua 1:9 says. "...be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."
Blessings to you and your family,
Margaret and Elaine

I just tear up every time I read that note! Such wisdom from the mouth of a child. I would guess that Elaine was probably second grade at the time she gave Elena that teacup.
So Elena had her orange bath tonight, and I wanted to post these pics as a tribute to Margaret and Elaine! We love and miss you and are looking forward to your trip to Texas this fall!