The Law of the Oldest

It has been 8 1/2 years since Ally was born and it seems as if I put every hope and expectation upon her the minute she entered the world.  I wanted her to be good! Smart! Creative!  A Singer!  A Writer!  And reading Jane Austen by age 9......Well, Ally is as good as they possibly come, but I have found that my goals may not necessarily be Ally's goals.  And in the same breath, I have also found that some goals are important NO MATTER WHO THE CHILD IS. 

Last Sunday was our ward's Primary Presentation during Sacrament Meeting.  Honestly - one of the best meetings I have been to.  I know there were a lot of kids on the stand.  However, my eyes were so closely trained on 3 of them (namely Ally, Sam, and Gary), that I can tell you very little about the rest.  There are some moments (few to be exact) where you sit back and say to yourself, "It is working, all of our hard work is beginning to see some fruit."  One of those moments briefly occurred last Sunday. 

(Which reminds me...A few weeks ago my sister was visiting my mom.  I called home and asked what was going one....My mom replied.  "McKayla is doing the dishes, Erin is cleaning up, Delaney is helping me, and Heather is making cookies."  I replied, "WOW!  They grew up to be USEFUL!"  To which my sister promptly replied, "Mine did, but there are no guarantees on yours :)  She was joking, I am hoping!)

I just wanted to say that I am very proud of Ally!  I can see huge strides in her, spiritually, intellectually, and in all manners of goodness.  I know that Heavenly Father placed her first in our family for a reason.  My mom and dad always stressed the "Law of the Oldest."  Meaning, the oldest child sets an example which is either hard to overcome, or a an example for all of the remaining children to reach to.  I am grateful for JoDee, the oldest in our family, who set the precedence, and I am grateful that Ally has many of JoDee's qualities!