the halfway sign of nine

Whoa, little lovey. Today you are officially half-grown.

You are at that perfectly middling stage of childhood where the exuberance of youth meets the independence and responsibility of growing up. And you have matured a lot this last year. You are capable of listening and following through on a task, paying attention to detail and doing excellent work. You like to complete your school work early in the day and can be found up early most mornings on the couch, diligently digging into your reading for the day.

And you still love to explore and play outside. I'll often catch you slipping out to the backyard, just to catch some peace and quiet on the tree swing for a few minutes. You're observant of the birds and insects. You prefer me to not touch your hair, or to restrict the hair-doing to a simple ponytail, not having much time for braids. Your favorite color is yellow, and you still love your leopard gecko Charlie (who we found out recently was a GIRL after we had been calling her "he" for a year and a half).

 And your favorite pastime is anything artsy. I recently asked you to take a three-day break from watercolor painting, since we were accumulating much too much of it. The next thing I knew, you were snipping up a thousand pieces of paper, creating a cool collage self portrait and a fun paper and button creation.

You are still a little bashful--especially when talking to grown-ups--but you are showing more comfort with communicating in your quiet and calm way . . . except when the boys are involved, then you tend to take on a maternal scolding/correcting tone of voice. (It's usually deserved, because they LOVE to irritate you.)

Happily, all of this brotherly "attention" has had a refining effect on your little spirit. We are delighted with your get-along-with-everyone personality, and pray that you will continue to grow and mature, especially in spiritual matters. 

Life is so much richer when we know where we've come from and where we're going. Keep fostering kindness in your feminine little heart, and let your love for others be fueled by your love for the Lord. Keep shining brightly for Him. We love you, Birthday Girl.

Matthew 5:16 "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."