The Other Little Birthday Girl

Meet mini me. We don't look much alike, but I'm afraid our insides are eerily the same. From her flashes of uncontrollable anger, to her love of reading, to her deep need to please, to her love of Mexican food, to the way she feels called upon to always be in charge of her little sister, to the dichotomy of wanting to look prissy but still play in the mud...I get her. I get her so much, that I get aggravated at all the little things I want to correct in myself :) Then, I love her like a piece of my own heart that was plucked out to walk beside me through life. We're already friends. We already fight and get our feelings hurt like sisters. Some days I truly wonder who's in charge around here...and so does she.
While there are so many similarities, there are some differences too. They fascinate, and honestly, scare me...make me wonder if I'll ever be adequate enough to cultivate her sparkling little mind like she deserves. She loves nature and longs to take care of it. From making plants grow, to seeing beauty in every little rock and leaf she passes, to going into raptures of joy over finding a roly poly that she vows to care for "for always." She asks questions, good questions, that I can't answer. She prays prayers that make me cry for her absolute faith and deep understanding of our God. She understands language...and how to use it to get what she wants :) I'm scared y'all!

I'm thankful that she doesn't want to go to school most days because she says she just wants to "hang out with you and Dapples." I'm thankful that her Daddy coming home is the most anticipated moment of her day. I'm thankful that God has entrusted her to us. And I'm thankful, as my friend Lauren wisely told me, that I'm not responsible for filling her up--as though she's an empty vessel. God has already put a whole person inside of her mind, body and heart; I'm just responsible for helping her discover and cultivate all He placed inside.The CAKE! Which deserves a blog all its own! I have never seen such a beautiful birthday cake before...except for the fact that they thought her name was Jace instead of Pace :)

Moogie, the one who bought The CakeAnd Popon, the one who paid for it :)The presents. Sorry Ashley didn't like this present and Josh looks like he just came out of a tree stand. Oh wait, he did.Thank you boys, for demonstrating just how to use these phones. Sadly, Dapples needed one more lesson :)