Happy 8th Birthday, Elise!

This year Elise's birthday was a very special albeit very busy day.  We started the day at our parish where she made her First Confession.  It was so beautiful to see her smile.  

Chris then had to head out of town for a business trip that day ( a Saturday, boo for taking our weekends, work).  Nick came over and watched the littlest three so my friend Megan and I could lead a mini-retreat for young girls at a nearby parish.  

Here's Megan teaching some sweet girls about reading the Bible and imagining yourself in the story.  Elise was thrilled to get to be a part of the retreat with her big sister Kayla on her special day.  She especially loved getting to decorate a prayer journal with markers and stickers.  

When I returned from helping with the retreat, we made Elise's choice of dinner: Macaroni and cheese and salad and pizza.  Our friend Dan's wife (Sarah) was out of town visiting her aging mother, so he joined us for dinner as well.  Afterwards we convinced Nick and Dan to play charades.  

This is "tap dancing"

And here are some other fun videos of the ridiculous fun we all had.  

              

              

A week later when Chris was home again, we had another celebration for Elise and Chris made the ice cream cake she had requested with her birth flower on it.  

 

         

She's so proud to finally be EIGHT!

Dear sweet Elise, 

You are a joy.  You giggle and laugh about all the silly things.  You love to sing and dance and entertain us all.  You are smarter than you think.  

This year you are taking ballet with your sister Ava.  You are all smiles unless you are concentrating too hard on the steps.  You prance about at home showing us all your newfound skills.  Leaps and bounds and plies and releves.  

You are as worried as a little mother hen.  Often it's very endearing and sweet because you want to protect people and keep everyone safe and happy.  Sometimes your fears and worries take over though and you want to control everyone else and all their actions because you just know you can keep them safe etc.  Your mothering skills and interests are strong, and we continue to pour the lessons of love and empathy and trust into you everyday so that you can use your gifts without feeling the need to stress out and control every situation.  

You still struggle with many fears in life.  But you have already conquered SO many.  You are very affected by the world and the people around you, so you have a great capacity for fear, but consequently also a great capacity for LOVE.  As you learn to conquer each fear, your love gets bigger and bigger.  

You love to work on building projects.  Towers, candy houses, science projects....

It's been a big year in school for you battling the fears and anxieties so that you can succeed in each of your subjects.  You and I have had a lot of power struggles in your homeschooling at times.  You are so smart, and you slowly are starting to really internalize that and use it to your advantage instead of letting the problems on the page overwhelm you simply because there are so many or they look complicated.  We are so proud of how far you've come and the ways you've learned to try to solve your problems piece by piece instead of simply shutting down.  

You love to play with your sisters and friends in the neighborhood.  You ride your bike (big like your sister's) and could jump endlessly on the neighbor's trampoline.  You love to be active, though you also love imaginative play like house or stuffed animals or school a great deal.  

It humbles me because I know I'm far from perfect, but you tell me often that you want to be a mom (married to "my Chris" as you refer to the guy you'll choose someday).  When I ask if you want to do any other things, you reply, "No, just a mom.  Moms teach theirs kids and take care of them and love them."  It makes my heart so proud that you understand the importance of motherhood and want to be one too someday.  Your heart is so full of love and tenderness that I know you will make a wonderful one.  Your favorite Bible story is Jesus' birth which is really no surprise since it's all about Mary being a mom and getting to hold her baby for the first time.  Her baby who is SO important and who came to save us all. 

You get so proud every time you lose another tooth and we love to see that grin with your sweet dimple and the gaps where your new teeth haven't quite grown in.  

You are full of life and love.  You are full of questions and concerns.  You are full of fun and silliness.  You are full of snuggles and hugs.  The other day you told me that you were "made for hugs" and it made my heart so happy because I happen to love hugs, most especially from the biggest blessings God has gifted me with- YOU and your siblings and your Daddy.  

Happy birthday, beautiful girl and may you always be stronger than your fears and share your love and laughter with the world.