10 on the 10th

Little Dolly. Today you are 10 on the 10th, and we rank you as 10 out of 10 for lovability. You've been busy growing up over this past year--in height, but also personality refinement. You are overcoming the excessive shyness little by little and coming out of the proverbial shell, and you've met the decade mark perfectly freckled and beautifully toothy.

At this age, you HATE having your hair done and want to live in a perpetual ponytail (I'm with you on that one.) You have blossomed as a pianist with your sight reading skills and are still working on the ukulele--it's awfully cute seeing you with that thing (although I would not use the "C" word to your face). You are still taking care of your leopard gecko Charlie, dutifully buying her fresh bugs to eat at the local reptarium. And you are taking gymnastics lessons again, after much diligence at home working on your "splits" and "walkover"--all the more impressive with your very tall and narrow physique!

 You love to be active outside on the trampoline (or sometimes sneaking off to the hammock with a book in hand), and you love to have friends over for some serious playtime giggles. And while you aren't overly demonstrative with emotions, you do get a certain sparkle in your eye with a suppressed grin when we talk about really fun and exciting things, like our beach vacation coming up.

I'm sensing the time of little girlhood running out and looming ahead are the fast-changing years of the tweens and teens. But we are enjoying right now, just like you are.

Our prayer is that you keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. And all of the eternally important things that go with that. We love you, Baby Girl.