Stella Bella

My Aunt Bev is an amazing photographer and recently got together with us to do some baby pictures of Stella and general family pictures of us together. She gave us the cd of finished images last week and, I'll be honest, I have spent so much of my time drooling over them and framing them and hanging them on my walls that I didn't actually leave time to post any on my blog for anyone else to see! So here we are a week later and I can't wait to share them with you all!! I figured I would do them in batches to cut down on upload time, so tonight I am spotlighting Stella, or as she is known around here- Stella Bella.
What can I say about my beautiful girl? She is such a pure and sweet joy to us! I remember worrying before Arthur was born about how I would feel after giving birth. Would I immediately feel that overwhelming, all-encompassing, all-powerful motherly love that I always heard about from other moms? Maybe I just couldn't imagine loving so deeply and so devotedly someone I really didn't even know, you know? How would it work? What if I didn't love my baby right away and feel just like a mother should? The moment Arthur was born it felt as though my whole world stopped and suddenly there was just this precious baby that I loved more than I could have ever known. Then, when I was pregnant with Stella I worried again, but this time about how I could ever love another baby as much as I loved Arthur. What if I didn't? How could I feel that deeply about more than one child- and feel it at the same time? Once again I was taught a powerful lesson about love and about the divine role of motherhood. It truly is such a special glimpse into the love that Heavenly Father feels for us, His children, when you feel love as a mother for your children.
Stella steals my heart each day! The name Stella means 'star' and that is truly how I think of her. When she was blessed Chris spoke of her being a light in an otherwise darkened world, a light that would bring hope in these last days. I picture the night sky totally black except for those beautiful twinkling stars and I see that Stella is just like those night stars, in a dark world she, like others, can bring light and love. Her smile is infectious and I already see each day how she lightens the world as strangers constantly stop to admire her and her smile lights up in their eyes and they can't help but smile back. That is how I feel when I look at her! A wonderful joy flows through me when she smiles! She is sweet and patient and seems always to be bursting with happiness that I know came from her heavenly home. At times when I am talking to her and she beams at me it is as though she wants to remind me of that joy and eternal happiness that is ours when we live righteously. I feel such a sense of familiarity when I look in her beautiful eyes and I know that she is my daughter forever and that I am her mother forever and I am so thankful for the joy that she brings me and the light she is in our family!
I love her more than I could ever have imagined!!