The Ambitious Life

 Abigail Ann, You are becoming such a lovely young woman - it is a pleasure to watch you grow up and see how things I've seen in you since you were little (creativity and kindness) become even more refined.  You have developed a love of reading which shocks and delights me!  It is so fun to watch you get excited to explore worlds in books. You are kind and generous.  You often share things with siblings that is above and beyond generous.  You think of others often before yourself.  You also have a fiery side that comes out in a protective way and it is also fun to watch personality just flow out of you.   You are noticing boys a lot more and watching you navigate that whole new world has been delightful.  You are handling it well and I'm glad to watch you mature. Abi, you delight me and I am so thankful you are mine.  You are helpful and kind.  You are thoughtful and generous.  You are a firecracker and a delight.  Keep it...

   Faith,  You are SO excited about turning five!  Your morning started with helium balloons in your bedroom thanks to your Dad.  Then we had coco puffs and lucky charms.  For a minute you believed that I forgot to make you a birthday cake, but my friend Christina made you the coolest unicorn cake.  You were delighted!  You have changed so much in the past year.  You are fiesty and independent but still love to give hugs and kisses.  You play hard, love hard, and desperately want to be one of the big kids.  I think though, you are still ok with some of the extra attention and privileges that being little gets you.  Daddy took you to get your ears pierced - you picked out little diamond earrings and they are adorable!  You are so excited and I was surprised that you were so excited to go!    I am so excited to see how you are getting so big and just enjoying life!  Keep it up princess!  Love, Mama B...

  Rae,  You are my sunshine, my Rae of sunshine!  That is your absolute favorite song to sing with and to me.  It's lovely.  You're lovely.  You have such a big personality and it has been so fun to watch.  You love to draw - sometimes even all over your body in marker.  You like when your sisters do your nails and you love to twirl in dresses.  You also love to play in the dirt and aren't afraid of a mess.   You love to play with the big kids, doing anything that they will include you in.  Abi loves to do crafts, Grace will do your nails, and the boys treat you like a little princess, most of the time!  You are a delight and a joy and it is obvious by the way your siblings enjoy being around you. I am proud of you, chicky, and I can't wait to keep watching you grow! Love, Mama Birthday cake: 6 layer cake, dyed rainbow colors!  Birthday Dinner: hamburgers and french fries Favorite Toys: coloring and playdough Favor...

Isaac,  I am so so proud of you!  I have so much enjoyed getting to spend even more time with you as we are working on school this year.  You understand so much, so quickly and it is fun to see these things, especially math, come easy to you.  You often look like you aren't paying attention then surprise me with a spot on answer!  You are a joy and a delight!  You are so great at building Legos and following the instructions for those - but you show so much creativity when you build things all on your own!  Papa told you that he no longer considers you one of the little kids, but includes you in the big kids now - you show responsibility and self control and I love to see the privileges that come with that!  You are so quick with a hug and often ask me to stop to give you one - I love it!  You'll still hold my hand when we go out and are quick to give me a kiss as well.  You are definitely a big kid though, able to do so much without me...

  Jacob, You are a joy.  You have so much energy...you have these big ideas that are sometimes brilliant and sometimes completely wacky.  I never know what is going to come out of your mouth and you keep me on my toes.  You are very concerned with things being fair and equal and you are learning that is not how life always is.  You are often very literal in your thinking which leads to some pretty interesting conclusions.  You are a great problem solver and you often think through things differently than how I might.  I am learning so much from you as I see you interact with the world.  You are constant motion and are often moving, tapping, or talking.   You have a crazy ability to remember song lyrics and the titles and artists.  I am pretty sure you have K-Love's playlist memorized!  You retain information well and when you put your mind to it, you do a great job at your school work.  I think you really enjoy having the freed...

  Levi,  You are an awesome kid.  I am so thankful to watch you grow and learn.  I feel like this year you have really just blossomed in your efforts to be thoughtful and helpful.  You've gone out of your way to help your sisters and help me out.  You also are so good with Lily - always willing to help, take her out, and help train her.  You are so fun.  You are full of energy, always awake early and you just GO all day.  You love to play Nintendo, hate to take rests, and enjoy building Legos.  You are creative in how you solve problems and often think quickly.  You LOVE a good joke and often crack me up with things you are coming up with. School has been good for you this year.  You are doing really well with your math on the computer and I think you like the freedom of doing it yourself.  You have managed to be in charge of the dishwasher most mornings and often will start breakfast for me too. We went to the zoo recentl...

  Grace,  Happy teenage years!  Hopefully they are happy - I pray regularly that your teen years would be filled with joy and that you would blossom during these years.  I remember teenage years being a rough time and I am so glad that you and I have a solid relationship with you so I can help you through it.  I have things to say, but since this is technically a public post, I won't go too deep, but I am thankful that you are learning about relationships gently.  You are learning about friendships, trust, and how to navigate all these things well.  I am so proud of your maturity and how you've walked through this stuff so far. One of my favorite memories with you this past year was going to Skyview Ranch on winter retreat.  I got to watch you ride a horse (that tried to roll over on you!), make new friends, be brave, try new things, and be grown up.  We talked about how I wasn't there to hang out with you, just to keep an eye on things since...