Our only girl

Over the past nine years, we have often heard things like...

"Poor Maggie, stuck with all those brothers"

"I bet she really wants a sister, huh?"

"Poor little thing, it must be hard having all those brothers and no one for her to play with..."

once we even had a stranger in a store ask if the little two boys were failed attempts at giving her a sister?
(don't even get me started on that one)

Our responses have varied, but always we have attempted to make it known that Magdalyn loves her brothers, they are gifts to her.

Sure she'd love a sister, what girl wouldn't? However, she'd also love another brother. No, she doesn't think four is more than enough.

Often when I see a conversation headed towards the "poor Maggie" direction, I try to head it off. It's been pretty standard to hear me say something like "Yes, she's the only girl. She's got the perfect spot in the family...two big brothers to protect her and two little brothers that she can mother. She holds her own and is a great sister, we are very blessed by ALL of our children."

Wednesday was Rocklin's birthday. One gift he received was a book to teach him how to make various "weapons" from historical times by using duct tape and other house hold scraps. Right away he went to work and built swords out of tape and foam. It wasn't long before he had one for himself and each sibling so they could sword fight.

At one point, Magdalyn stomped into my room and said, "I don't like that book. We just read the rules for playing and rule number 7 is that girls aren't allowed to fight."

We talked about chivalry and that historically girls didn't fight. We talked about the fact that despite that "rule" there were various girls through out history, Joan of Arc for one, that fought anyway.

I gave her permission to ignore the rule and sword fight against her brothers, but also reminded her that if she was going to play with them she had to be prepared for their roughness and not come whining to me.

I really had no fear, she holds her own well. It was no surprise that later in the day, she is the one that had a broken sword from hitting too hard.

There are plenty of days when she is the princess,
the damsel in distress,
the cow-girl,
the mommy,
or the scared little sister that needs a brother to squash a spider.

On the other hand, there are days like Wednesday.
Days when she's the bravest of knights,
the toughest of pirates,
the superhero that saves the day
or the Queen that rules rebel-land and orders her servants to perform all manner of tasks.

I have no worries that this girl of mine has too many brothers. I have no sympathy that she's the only girl.

I am thankful for and blessed by all of these children every single day. I don't believe the placement of any of them in our family was a crapshoot, a random circumstance or unfortunate in any way.

They are exactly who they were meant to be, in exactly the family they belonged in the exact order orchestrated by a loving Creator.

Yep, she is the only girl and no, I didn't necessarily plan that, but God did. He put her smack dab in the middle of four boys.

Four boys that need her.

Four boys that she needs.

Four boys that adore her.

Four boys that she adores.

Two big brothers that protect her.

Two little brothers that love when she mothers them.

Four brothers that no matter where life takes her will forever remain her first best friends.