Happy 12th Birthday, Elise Marianna!

 

Happy happy birthday, sweet Elise!  

You are filled with so much joy and beauty and tenderness. 

You received this lovely dress as a gift from Aunt Priscilla and Uncle Bob and you just SHINE in it!

In general you don't love dresses or frills or fancy, but every once in awhile something just hits you right and you RADIATE with joy in a dress or fun hairstyle. 

You love and adore animals.  Last year I got you a guinea pig for your birthday and you love Marigold and her furry self.  But it's not just your own pets you love.  You adore animals in the wild, at the zoo, and in other various places that you meet them.  Yes, you jump sometimes and pull back, but you LOVE them.  Your heart is for God's creatures and you overcome your fears of some of them because of your great love.  

This year was a weird year for celebrating your birthday because we attended a funeral (Aunt Christine's father-in-law) the day before and that threw our typical schedule off with having family in town etc. Plus my college roomie, Bernadette (or as you like to call her Veronica) came into town the evening of your actual birthday so we picked her up at the airport.  We did have a fun evening enjoying our first ever Five Guys burgers. But the celebrating of your birthday with an actual cake of any kind was done much later.  You did get celebrated by family after the funeral when we all hung out which was beautiful as well.  It was not a typical celebration this year, but nonetheless a good celebration in many ways and forms. 

Happy belated birthday (at the point this picture was taken and the video below was recorded)

You still struggle with anxieties and fears, but, Elise, you are one of the bravest girls I know.  You walk through the storms and the difficulty with such courage and heart.  And you remember that you are a Child of the King despite the fears.  I love that you have such a tender heart that sees the pain of others and walks with them in it all.  At times, holding all that pain and heartache and anxiety makes you lash out in anger and frustration, but you are quick to apologize and choose kindness after.  Thank you for being real, for being patient with yourself, and for leaning into the love that we all have for you in this journey of life.  It is not easy, but you walk through the storms and hardship with such grace.  I am so very proud of you, sweetheart. 

Your dimple is one of my favorite things in the world.  You have the sweetest smile and the brightest eyes and dimpliest dimple.  

You face struggles with your school work sometimes and work very hard, slow and steady, in it all.  Sometimes things come easily and sometimes they don't.  I could not be more proud of your willingness to work diligently despite the fact that some of the work is so difficult to process.  

You love babies and it's been wonderful to get to see several baby cousins lately.  You light up with a quiet joy whenever they are around. 

You are also a complete goofball.  When your cousins visited you, Ava, and Benji were on a team to put together a puzzle and you guys kept cracking up about this and that and it was just the best.  The puzzle we did was of a pug (kind of dog) and you three had this joke calling each pug face and then you would all erupt in laughter.  

The writing program at our school has been a source of frustration for you. In fact, you thought yourself to be a terrible writer.  BUT it turns out that because your 6th grade teacher started a little lunchtime writing club, we discovered that you are a very gifted writer.  Your stories are detailed and interesting.  One day I heard you reading from your for-fun writing notebook to Kolbe and it was amazing.  Your voice was full of inflection and passion and your story was engaging.  Kolbe couldn't get enough, and he's got a pretty short attention span as you well know.  

Additionally, you wrote a poem that you shared with me, inspired by your class reading The Scarlet Pimpernel in class.  It was BEAUTIFUL.  Since then, you have written several more very beautiful poems.  Whenever you are tempted to think you are no good at writing, please remember that you ARE.  You are incredibly gifted in this area and I am so excited to hear more of your stories and listen to more of your poems.  

Sweet Elise, you are so very loved.  Thank you for sharing your joy and your heart and your sensitive tender spirit with us.  We love you.  

Happy 11th birthday, Elise!

 

Happy happy birthday to my sweet and wonderful Elise Marianna!

You are JOY and giggles and fun.  

I love how you find the simple joys in life.  Since you were born, you have always walked to the beat of your own drum and you do it with laughter and joy and humility and wonder.  You look at the world around you with such curiosity, and I love that about you.  You are always helping to slow me down so that I can take in the simple beauty of things right in front of me. 

When you are cranky or sad, it can be difficult to cut through your anxiety, but when we find your spark of joy, it sure expands and fills the space that once held fear and uncertainty. 

You were in 5th grade this year and you made us so proud.  You work so so hard and are so respectful to your teachers and so kind to your friends.  You are such a pure and sweet little angel.  Learning can be difficult in many ways for you and you get anxious quickly about things that you think you "aren't good at".  In reality, you are much smarter than you believe yourself to be and you simply need to have the confidence in your own abilities that your parents and your teachers have in you.  

For your birthday, you got to choose the Christmas movie that we watched in the month of March and you chose....Elf.  One of your favorites.  You are always quoting funny lines to me which I love because I , too, am a movie quoteer.  I love that you have my brand of humor and that you pick up on some of the movie lines I say and laugh along with me. 

You LOVE animals. 

It's no surprise that you asked for a pet for your birthday.  

You and Ava both wanted guinea pigs.  She got her gift early because we found some wonderful people looking for a new home for their sweet little guinea pigs, Marigold and Rosie.  

Your sweet face when I told you you were getting a guinea pig was everything. 

The whole family was pretty excited really. 

Elise, you are so tender and caring.  When I am having a hard day, you are there with a hug or a kind word.  When your siblings are upset, you are upset too.  You can read the room and respond to it.  

You are such a beautiful, quirky, wonderful girl.  Thank you for being such an amazing daughter.  

We love you so very much and are so blessed by your joy and your vibrance and your silliness.  Thank you for making our lives so full of love and excitement.  

Keep filling the world with all that love and joy, Elise.  

Happy Birthday, Elise Marianna!

Happy Birthday, sweet Elise!  

You are so silly and fun!

You are thoughtful and kind.  You are so sensitive to the emotions and feelings of others.  I can always count on you for a big hug when I am feeling down.  Already at 10, you have the gift of compassion and empathy.  I could not be more proud of you.  Armed with those gifts, you will make such a beautiful difference in the world. 

You are always looking for beauty.  

You saw the colorful sky in this picture and 

insisted on a picture to capture it in our memories.  

You tell me often that when you grow up you "want to be a mom like you".  

Hold on a second while I bawl my eyes out.  

There is no higher compliment I could receive than that you want to be a mama like me.  

You and your brother and sisters are such beautiful, precious blessings in my life, 

and I have grown so much as a person because of each of you.  

You teach me to remain childlike and filled with wonder and awe and joy.  

You teach me to look at life's simple beauty.  

You teach me to let my guard down and be myself. 

We have spent countless hours on homework and you are such a hard worker.  You put so much energy into figuring out each problem and you have grown so much in patience and giving yourself grace.  

You are a kind friend to everyone.  You are tender and sweet.  You love to include others.  You have a wonderful imagination and a childlike spirit.  You are loyal and fun.  

When the joy in your heart bubbles out, it is truly beautiful.  Your smile is radiant, your eyes sparkle and shine with warmth and delight, and your giggle is infectious.  

Thank you, Elise Marianna, for being so very wonderful. 

Happy Birthday sweet, Elise!

                  

You really love wearing glasses even though your eyesight is just fine.  Because you don't have a prescription, you wear blue light glasses and it is so you.  You are quirky and unique and you are unashamedly YOU.  I love that about you.  So many people are trying to fit into a box or impress others and be what they think others want them to be.  You are not afraid to be Elise.   

You still battle fears and anxiety, but each day you become a little braver 

and I am so proud of your journey.  

When you were little and I would hold you and talk you down from your fear of every ride,

 --small or smaller-- at Disneyland, I could never have imagined the 10 year old you are today, 

braving the things you do.  

Yes, I still hold you and we work through your fears together, 

but you have conquered a great many. 

It fills my heart with such joy to be on this journey with you, facing our fears together. 

You are creative and adventurous.  I love when you share your pictures and stories with me.  The characters and details are charming and fun.  I love coloring with you and watching your imagination soar.  You are a bundle of fun.

Thank you for all the joy and wonder you bring to my life.  Thank you for reminding me to slow down and be grateful.  Thank you for helping me notice all the beauty unfolding around me.  

You got your ears pieced for your 10th birthday.  Our neighbors just so happened to be there getting their little girls' ears pierced too so we got to be brave together. 

You faced your fear with such sweet honesty.  It was scary and you let yourself be scared and then you took some deep breaths...

got some Mama hugs and support

and bravely conquered your fear. 

You are so honest and real.  

Thank you for teaching us all the beauty of humility and realness. 

You are beautiful inside and out, darling girl. 

You came into the world so quickly (thanks for letting me barely make it to the hospital at least) and you impact the lives of everyone around with such confident joy.  

Happy, happy birthday, sweet Elise.  

Elise's First Holy Communion

 

Elise's First Communion was delayed almost two months due to Covid, but she did finally get to receive Jesus for the first time on June 28, 2020!  

Heading to Mass!

FAMILY

Elise was able to receive on the tongue and receive both the body and the blood via intinction (where the priest dips the host in the precious blood).  Because of all the restrictions barring the usual method of receiving the precious blood, the priest gave special permission for the first communicant's to receive Jesus under both species in this beautiful way.  

As is usual for me, I cried.  

It was beautiful and she was beautiful and another one of my babies received JESUS for the first time.  

Afterwards we had a little gathering with a few friends and this sweet girl could not stop smiling.  

Pure joy. 

Chris and I gift each girl with a rose on their first communion day.  

At first Elise wanted a yellow rose with red tips, but when Chris took her to the nursery to pick on out, she chose this lovely soft orange rose instead. 

May you always be this excited and awed by receiving Our Lord

Her lovely veil was a handmade gift from her lovely Aunt Laura.  

Thank you for making her dream veil for her special day. 

Happy happy First Communion Day, Elise Marianna!

Jesus delights in you so very much.