Elise Mae Halsted has taught me so much about faith. I am so thankful for her boisterous personality and the fact that she finds herself so funny (we do too). She is always happy and laughing and is so good for my soul. I am thankful that she continues to guide me in living more freely and worrying less. She is tiny, but her personality is bigger than life and her crinkle nose smile cheers even the darkest day. How blessed I am to have her as a daughter and I pray that I can show her Christ's love above all and nurture that adventurous nature of hers. She is my second-born stubborn, adorable, loving, funny, fearless, energetic ALMOST two year old and I am so thankful for every single second of those almost two years.
I remember very vividly one Thanksgiving where I went to use the bathroom and just could not come out. I was pouting and sad and in a pool of self-pity. It seemed unfair that all of my friends had husbands and I didn't. I longed for a man that would accept me for me and be a lover of God. For what seemed like forever, I sat in there on that cold toilet while my precious family was laughing and talking in the living room. I pulled it together and looked myself sternly in the mirror-- demanding that I count my blessings (which were so plentiful and overflowing that it is embarrassing) and marched myself back out for our fun gathering. There were many moments like this that I remember. I often had to slap myself back to the reality of the amazing life that I had and remind myself to LIVE IT. The desire to marry and have a family were still strong and present, but I prayed through those rough patches and kept striving to loosen my grip on obsessing about that dream.