Daughters.

 My baby girl is beautiful.  In fact when I first laid eyes on her she was the most beautiful creature i'd ever seen.  She's a sweet soul with a golden core.  And with 3 boys ..she's everything right in the world.  Our corner of pink in a house of blue.
 I fear for her.  A lot.  Actually that's a gross understatement.  In a world of Mileys and Brittanys it's really hard to show..and better yet make a girl believe that she's special, beautiful, enough.  It's hard to make a girl believe that she should be nothing like what society and the media depicts a woman to be.
  I used to think it was a teenager issue.  That I had years before I had to worry about these things.  But all it takes is one stroll down the Barbie aisle or a trip into a certain "childrens" clothing store and you see it's a RIGHT NOW worry.  Scantily clad dolls.....clothes that barely cover bootys.  What are we trying to tell our girls?  What are we showing them?  And you look at the media....there are no role models....not good ones anyway.  Not even Disney is a "safe" area.
  I'm not saying I want Natalie to grow up ashamed of her body...NO...the opposite really.  I want her to be so proud and comfortable in her own skin that she understands that she's beautiful enough without having to wear a dress to her crack and a top cut to her navel to appease anyone.  I want her to rejoice in her beauty...to know deep down that she's the most gorgeous creature.  To see herself as God does.  As myself and her father does.  So when she's in high school and her crush decides to go to prom with a girl that doesn't have the same self confidence.....and sadly..may well..shows too much skin..she will know it's because there's something wrong with him.  Not her. And she'll move on ...happily!
  I want her to see that being humble is a beautiful quality to have.  That being boastful and cocky about anything other than Gods love for her is stupid.  And more....ugly.  To know that she's more than whats on her sleeve.  I am saddened DAILY...mostly on FB..by mothers who constantly make a fuss over the brand their daughter has on her back.  Whether they realize it or not you're telling your beautiful daughter she's nothing more than whats on her back.  Nothing more than material things.  I want her to be so confident in herself and the beauty within her that she radiates it...even in sweats ...or covered in mud.
 I want so bad for her to know...and I mean REALLY know that she doesn't have to take trashy selfies on social media sites to get attention.  No arched backs.....not butt sticking out...NO duck faces.  That her beautiful smile is enough.  And if she has to be a picture hound like her Momma to make it pictures of her dirty, playing soccer.  Or gardening with her Dad....or playing with her little brothers.  THOSE are the things that represent her.
  And for her to know that when I tell her this next thing....and it's HUGE..that her Momma isn't making it up.  Ready for it.....GOOD boys/men don't like those things either.  They really don't.  When picturing their wife and the mother of their future children..they're not picturing  her half naked taking shots dancing on a table.  Nope.  And while those types might be popular with the high school caliber BOY......not so much a few years later when it's marriage talk.  To know that she's too precious ...too beautiful not to wait for the one God made for her.  I just want to raise a God girl in a Miley world.  And I honestly think if more Moms and Dads said "NO" to sexing up our little girls....NO to pageants (YES, i'm anti-pageants)...NO to the horrible messages in a lot of todays mainstream music....NO to the awful smut they're peddling as entertainment....Just NO to making these babies grow up faster.  And a YES to nurturing their innocence...their hearts..to being involved and reassuring them that being a good girl is not something to be ashamed of.   AND to raising men who recognize that.