Ten

My baby is double-digits!!  How did this happen?  Yesterday we were patty-caking around the field in Athens, GA, and all-of-a-sudden you are big and strong and 5 feet tall!!!  Your foot is officially bigger than mine, you are officially faster than me, and I have no doubt that you will be taller than me within a year or two.

You are such a unique girl - full of adventure and constantly brimming with new ideas.  Somedays I still feel like I'm chasing you around trying to protect you from danger :)  But these days you are so much more capable of pushing back, and so I am trying to step out of the way more and more, and pray that the Spirit would be guiding you.

This week you are at camp, and it's the first time you've been away to an overnight camp.  This is a big stretch (at least for your Papa and me) because we have no idea what you are up to!!  More and more I am having to lean into prayer and trust that you are God's child and that He has you in the palm of His hand.

It is hard to be the oldest and be the first to experience every new thing.  The others miss you greatly this week and have been walking around bored half the time :)

You love to canoe and kayak and fish and climb and run and create and make.  You love to read and tear through books so quickly it's hard for me to keep up with your appetite. You continue to "write" intricate and creative stories with all your drawings, and I can't wait to see some of the stories written down some day.

You love chickens and kittens and horses, and we are looking for ways to put you in more and more contact with animals so you can learn to care for them.  You say you want to be a vet when you grow up, and you love reading the James Herriot stories (though I'm afraid being a vet today is not nearly as exciting).

You have started a succulent business.  We have had fun looking at yard sales and thrift stores for pretty teacups, and then you "glean" broken pieces of succulents of the floor of Home Depot, or find them in the woods, or root them from plants you already have growing.  You've already sold at least 5 plants, which has been fun to watch.  Soon you hope to have a vegetable and plant stand on a Saturday morning and sell eggs, squash, blueberries, and succulents.  We will see how it goes!

Next year you will be in 5th grade - one of the oldest kids at Masters' Academy.  I was thinking about how much you have grown in confidence and peace.  Four years ago when you started the program, you were only 6 years old.  I was afraid you would hide under the tables when you got nervous, or run away if the situation felt overwhelming.  Now you are taking piano lessons, a huge help to me in art class, and one of the leaders.

I continually pray that God would use your energy and creativity and sensitivity for His glory.  May you grow in wonder and awe and thankfulness day by day.  I love you, my little Songbird!!