Akens Family

Several weeks ago we celebrated the 4th birthday of our Scout. Four years! Four of the most precious, exciting, exhausting, wonderfully challenging years of my life. In the blink of an eye my baby girl is now a little girl. A little girl bursting with personality, and a love and excitement for life that just makes you smile. Man I love her! She challenges me daily. She pushes limits, asks hundreds of questions every day, gets mad, then gets happy, and she is very stubborn. Even though some days she pushes me to the point of exhaustion...I am a better person, and a better Mother because of her. She doesn't even know in her four short years what she has meant to my life. I make a lot of mistakes as a parent. Every. Day. But some how...at the end of the day...when we are laying in her bed reading books or just talking...there is that moment at the end of the day when we say our "good-nights" and "I love yous" that my entire being fills with a pride of which there is no parallel. She is mine. And although I get a whole lot of things wrong in life, she reminds me it's okay. I thank God every day for making me her Momma.

Scout has grown and matured so much in the last year. She is very independent. She takes showers now, puts her dishes in the sink when she is done eating, she can write her name, and she can stay in the lines when she colors now which she is very proud of. She also just recently learned how to swim on her own. She can only swim underwater for now...but she can go pretty far. We haven't signed her up for lessons yet. That was something I had planned on doing this Summer but due to lack of time it just didn't get done. Her learning how to swim came about because a few weeks ago her and Kris were swimming at Lifetime and she was playing with another four year old girl who could swim without floaties so Scout was determined she could too. And just like that...she started swimming. That's another thing I love about her. Once she sets her mind on something...it's happening one way or another. She enjoys dressing up like a princess, a doctor, or some form of a gypsy which consists of putting on several articles of clothing that may or may not go together, along with her play heels and a crown. She loves to play outside. Her favorite things to do outside are jump on the trampoline, play in the sprinkler, chase the babies, and play with Knox. Scout is super friendly and loves to talk to people. She also loves to sing and man...she sings a lot! She has several Scout original's but she also has her "go-to" songs that she loves to sing at the top of her lungs. And maybe I am bias but...sister has a voice. She can hit some high notes that's for sure. Some of our little singer/songwriters favorite songs are "Let it Go" from Frozen (shocking right?) , "I Will Wait" , Mumford and Sons, "Home", Phillip Phillips, and recently "Wavin' Flag" , K'naan, and other various songs she learns at church too. She loves music! She also likes to play ball. Mainly basketball and soccer...since those are really the only two sports she can kind of play right now...but I am just glad she likes to try to play. She is a great big sister too! A little bossy...but still great. We are very proud of the little lady she is becoming and she makes us smile every day!!!

Before Scout was born I had always imagined that at some point we would have a girl. I don't know if it was because deep down I really wanted a girl, or that Kris was so terrified of having a girl to the point he actually refused to have a girl and insisted he had some sort of "deal" with God. ( Turns out he loves having girls. Fear conquered. Sort of )

I have read several blog's where Mom's or Dad's have compiled a list of things to live by, advice, or just parent-isms of sorts...so I thought I would make a list for Scout. I'm sure I will add to it as the years go by. )

1. Be aware of the fact that your younger siblings are watching you. You will make mistakes. Lot's of them. But if there is ever a time when you are weighing the " should I?" or "should I not's?" remember that they look up to you and they are always watching how you handle thing's in life.

2. Don't judge a book by it's cover. Especially when it comes to people. Everyone has a story. So don't assume you know someone before you really KNOW someone .

3.Always, always, always be kind. If you only remember only one thing on this list, let it be this one.

4. Learn to throw a football just because you can. When I was a young girl my Dad taught me how to throw the perfect spiral football pass and as unimportant as it may be...it came in handy a few times. Plus...it's just cool to be a girl who can throw a football pretty well.

5. Let your faith be bigger than your fear.

6. Try new things, explore, and be spontaneous sometimes. Never be afraid to question things.

7. Remember that your parents were young once. We know all the tricks. Don't assume you can get away with anything.

8. Pray. In all things. Good and bad. Pray.

9. Express your emotions better than your Mother does. I will be the first to admit that I tend to bottle things up and it isn't always the best or the healthiest way to deal with things. There is a fine line between dealing with emotions in a crazy over the top dramatic way, and dealing with them in a mature, get it out, embrace it, and move on way. This is a line that I have never been able to effectively walk. Everyone has emotions and everyone deals with them in different ways. I hope that from me you learn to face stresses and disappointments with calmness, confidence, and faith. But it's my prayer that you are better at treading the sea of emotions and dealing with your feelings better than I was as a teenager and even now. You are usually happy and you make everyone around you happy. I call you My Sunshine because you are like a ray of light and you teach me what true joy is. I wish that you could always be happy, but I know this won't be the case. Embrace your frustrations and move on.When you are angry, let it out...then move on. To pretend that you are content when you aren't creates a facade. Be real. It's okay to cry.

10. Following up with number 9...don't turn little things in to big things. Focus on what is truly important and what really matters, pray about it, and you will be amazed at how those things become very small in the grand scheme of life. When you are having a bad day, write down five things you are thankful for. I used to do this and I need to do it more often.

11. Be very careful who you consider a role model.

12. Dance. A lot. ( I think you already have this one down)

13. It's okay to change your opinion. It doesn't make you flaky or shallow. It makes you human.

14. Say what you mean and mean what you say. ALWAYS. (I should probably put this one on your brothers list for when they start dating) It saves you and those all around you a lot of heartache and confusion if you just be real. Be nice...but be real.

15. Work hard. We live in a time now where more people expect something for nothing. I expect this to only get worse each generation. I hope that your Dad and I will teach you and your siblings that the only real success in life is what comes as a result of hard work, faith, and perseverance. Set goals! There are no free rides in life!

16. Be willing to serve others.

" In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

~ Acts 20:35

17. Never cheat

18. Ask us one day what real country music is. :)

I will add more later :)

We celebrated Scout's 4th birthday at Urban Air in Mansfield. Everyone had a blast! Below is a little slideshow with pictures of her party!

Scout...we love you and we are so proud of you!