Homecoming Princesses

Aren't they beautiful? Inside and out.

Sarah and Lizzy are sisters and best friends. I hope my girls are good buddies like these two when they are teenagers. And I hope my girls are as sweet and fun. One of the things I consider a huge blessing about being in young women's is that my little girls get to rub shoulders with the teenage girls I work with in church. They look up to my young women and want to be like them. They love having any of them come over for a visit or to babysit. They think it is funny that I have a "big" Sarah and a "big" Natalie" in young women's.

I would be so proud if my own girls turned out like the girls I get to be with at church. So I hope the fun, sweet, kind and hard working qualities I see in my young women rub off on and inspire my own little girls.

Another fun thing about my young women, like Sarah and Lizzy, is that I consider them my good friends, not just girls I happen to be a leader over. I really enjoy being around them and will always be their friends even when they graduate and move on. They are so sweet and actually consider me a friend as well. I appreciate that they don't just see me as an old lady that bosses them around. (o: Sarah and Lizzy often come to visit me when they have time. They even took the time to come and show me their beautiful dresses and hair on their way to the homecoming dance at school. That meant so much to me. Not only are they kind to me, but they are sweet to my girls, they visit some of the elderly people in the ward and genuinely love them, they are very ambitious and do great in school and they make good choices despite all the yucky things going on around them at school. I am proud of the way they are leading their lives already. They are going to do great things in life.

I am grateful for the high standards upheld by our church and that we try to live. (We are far from perfect, but we try.) I have seen first hand the wonderful results that can happen in teenager's lives if they catch the spirit of those high standards and live them with faith that they will be blessed for their strength. These girls know who they are and have a confidence that is rare in teen years. So many of the teenagers that surround them struggle with problems that come from poor choices - low self-esteem, relationship drama, pregnancy, selfishness, drug use, laziness and basically putting a HUGE emphasis on trying to fit in and impress their peers to make them feel important.

And the cool thing is that, just because many of my young women are genuinely good and aren't trying to impress everyone else - doesn't mean that they don't have a lot of friends. They are leaders and people are drawn to them. They are FUN and do crazy and funny things. They are definitely not boring. I feel honored to get to work with such great girls and hope that their awesome qualities will be passed on to my little girls.