What I Love Most is Gwyneth...

I recently took my oldest daughter to do her 13 year birthday pictures.  Last year she dressed up as a vintage "flight attendant" for her pictures and they turned out so great.  This year I steered her in the direction of a "70's" vibe look.  I love this time period and I really love the natural filter of this "late" sun light that lends itself to giving that 70's glow.  

Gwyneth, Gwen, Gwenny, Gwenna.  These are all of her names.  I am careful to call her Gwyneth because people tend to shorten her name to Gwen.  I like Gwen as well, but I want her to feel comfortable with her full name.

When I look at these pictures I feel like my life is flashing before my eyes.  I say that a lot, but that's because it's true.  She is beautiful to look at, but she's an even more beautiful person to know.  She is a genuinely happy person.  She has a light that shines brightly and she loves her Father in Heaven.  She has a desire to live the gospel that we so deeply cherish and have taught her.  I wake up every morning to find her at our kitchen island reading her scriptures with her fried egg on sourdough toast and hot chocolate, with grapefruit.

She continues to read like a maniac.  She is never without a book and I mean that in the very literal sense.  She's also a crafty, crafter.  :)  She's so funny because around the holidays she loves to make decorations for that particular holiday.  She had her room all decked out for Halloween, and now she's got all of her siblings decorating for Christmas.  She babysits a ton!  She's making good money so she will often buy herself some things.  Her recent purchase was a little, fake, "Charlie Brown" looking Christmas Tree with the bottom wrapped in burlap.  When she saw it at the thrift store, she went on and on about how she was so glad it was still there because when she saw it the first time she didn't buy it.  It was $2.00.  So the little humble tree is in her room with her sweet homemade decorations adorning its branches.

I didn't grow up with a life like Gwyneth has.  It was different, harder.  My mom was a single mother until I was 11 and then after she got married, she went to work full time and I was left to fend for myself during those times after school where I could have really used some guidance.  But, I see glimpses of myself in Gwyneth.  She has a very natural sophistication about her.  She has a desire to be her best self.  She tries hard and she is very respectful of us as her parents.  Sometimes, I think I could have been more like her when I was younger if I had more support and direction.  I remember having these similar desires, but the foundation wasn't there.  Luckily, it is there for Gwyneth, and all of our children.  I love being at home with her.  I love to teach her and to see her go about her day doing her studies, practicing piano, playing with her siblings, reading and of course, crafting.  It's the biggest blessing of my life to be there for my children in this way.

Gwyneth has been bitten by the "Volleyball Bug."  She really wants to be good and she loves to play.  We are trying to find a good club that fits her schedule and that isn't going to cost us an arm and a leg.  Her dad is super good at Volleyball and she has a "buttery" set just like him.

Gwyneth has some great friends.  She's lucky that way.  But, she has come home complaining a few times that some of them have gotten "boy crazy."  She says, she can't imagine being that way.  We'll see.  She is a young 13 year old, which I appreciate so much.  Right now she does what she loves and she's pretty carefree, boys are certainly not on her radar at this moment.  :)  

My inspiration for this photo shoot is the Anthropologie catalog.  Her dress even looks like something from the store, but it's actually from Forever 21.  It was very inexpensive, and so perfect for the look of this shoot. 

There she is.  That's Gwyneth right there.  Happy and beautiful inside and out, a gem for sure.  She got her braces on this past May and she will only have them on for about another 6 months.  Lucky her.  :)

Today, What I Love Most is Gwyneth.  She is my first daughter.  I will never forget how I felt when I found out I was having a baby girl.  I felt blessed to be having a girl to experience, along with the boy I already had.  And what an experience it has been.  I love her so much.  I can't believe she's my daughter sometimes.  I am beyond grateful to call her my daughter.  She is of course, and always will be, one of the greatest loves of my life.  Happy Birthday Gwyneth.