10 things i want my oldest daughter to know now that she is 10!

it finally happened. my oldest daughter turned a double-digit number today. this morning we are headed out of town, so i got her up early and took her outside on our front porch swing and gave her my letter to read. she then was given a special james avery charm bracelet with a few charms to start her collection. a decade ago feels like yesterday. happy birthday my sweet cami :)

10 things I want you to know now that you are 10!

                                                                                                                                   

1.       You are beautiful. Never doubt your beauty. You are lovely both inside and out. I have noticed that your features are becoming more and more grown up as each year passes and with that your heart grows bigger and bigger too. You are kind, compassionate, and thoughtful. You have beautiful brown hair, the prettiest hazel green eyes, and the sweetest smile that makes anyone smile too. You are a complete package and never forget it.

2.       You are smart. You have always tried your best in school and it has always paid off for you. Never dumb down your intelligence. A love for learning is very important in life. It will help you in school, in college, and in your career. I have heard you recently try to deny this truth in hopes of being like everyone else, but the fact that you are already a grade ahead proves that you are motivated to do well in school. This is nothing to be ashamed about. It is who you are and be encouraged to keep doing your best.

3.       You are unique. God set you apart to be the special individual that you are. Never try to be someone else. Always remain true to yourself because you can never look natural trying to be someone you aren’t. You will never fool anyone so don’t even try. I can’t imagine why you would want to impersonate someone else anyway. You are an awesome individual and there are girls out there that probably wish they could be more like you. Set the example and be free to be yourself.

4.       Never stop reading.  Your love for reading makes me so proud. I love the fact that you enjoy getting lost in a story… time and time again. It not only builds your vocabulary and comprehension skills, but it expands your imagination and creativity. This is something of a treasure that you will enjoy for a lifetime. I look forward to sharing favorite books and reading different novels together over the many years to come.

5.       Relationships can be tricky. As you have already learned, friendships can evolve and change over time. This happens because people are changing and evolving too. For the most part, you will have many people come in and out of your life, especially right now. Sometimes you might form strong bonds with some and others might be just simple acquaintances, so don’t focus on trying to make everyone happy all the time. Unfortunately, at some point, you will fail and it can be frustrating and hurtful. However, I do understand the importance of close healthy friendships in your life. You are a great friend and I hope others appreciate your gift of friendship.

6.       God is your source. As you take on more responsibility, you will learn that God is your everything. Look to him for help when you need it. Don’t be afraid to talk to Him through prayer. He is your provider, your comfort, and your joy. As your parents, we love to help you and take care of you, but the older you get the more decisions you begin to make. We won’t always be there to walk you through obstacles that might come your way. The Holy Spirit leads you and guides you to do the right thing that will ultimately give you peace. Start looking more and more to God for your answers and your relationship with Him will begin to grow and strengthen.

7.       Play. Once you stop, it’s very hard to enjoy it again. As I mentioned before, using your imagination is wonderful. Enjoy life and cherish the little things forever. Remain light-hearted and fun. Whether you are playing with your American Girl Dolls, dressing up your Barbies, creating music on the piano, or competing in volleyball, never be ashamed to follow your passions.

8.       Emotions can be controlled. Sometimes our emotions try to take over, but we can learn to not let them rule over our lives. Speaking God’s Word over your life can help combat the emotional rollercoaster that tries to steal your joy or make you afraid. It’s okay to feel emotional from time to time because we all do. That is normal. Just know that God wants you to live a life free from emotional stress.

9.       I’m your biggest fan. Even though we are a lot alike, I realize that we won’t always see eye to eye and that is okay. It is perfectly normal to have your own opinions. The only thing I ask of you is to be honest with me and never be afraid to ask or tell me things. I’m here to help you, to love you, and to cheer you on. I know you hear this a lot from me, but I’m for you! That will never change. You can’t earn my love, Cami. You got it the moment you grew inside me. I may not always like your decisions, but I will never stop loving you…never!

10.   You are loved. As I was trying to express to you above, I love you with all my heart. Your father has been in love with you since he first laid eyes on you. You are admired and looked up to by your little sister. Your whole family deeply loves you and your friends cherish you to pieces.  But nobody can ever love you as much as God does. His unending love for you is something you never have to doubt.

dearly loved

this month's scripture memory from my kids' school is so beautiful

and very meaningful to me right now, especially with the holidays approaching.

 

we all will soon be spending lots of time with family that we love and adore, but

don't necessarily always see eye-to-eye. (like all healthy families, right?)

 

it is amazing how the peace of god can melt away all our anxiety and hurt feelings

toward one another and somehow have a new found appreciation for them at the same time.

of course, this works for anyone and everyone in our lives not just family, but

these are the scriptures i will be feeding my spirit this thanksgiving and christmas.

colossians 3:12-15,17

therefore, as god's chosen people, holy and dearly loved,

clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness,

humility, gentleness, and patience.

bear with each other and forgive whatever

grievances you have against one another.

forgive as the lord forgave you.

and over all these virtues put on love,

which binds them all together in perfect unity.

let the peace of christ rule in your hearts,

since as members of one body you were called to peace.

and be thankful.

 

and whatever you do, whether in word or deed,

do it all in the name of the lord jesus,

giving thanks to god the father through him.

i have decided that this will be my last year blogging.

i have enjoyed it for the past 3 years, but i feel the need to move on

and devote my time to other things i feel god has put on my heart.

i will share more about that later one.

until then, i'm practicing putting on love :)

extraordinary hump day

this was the first time i didn't buy an actual costume

for one of my children to wear for halloween.

they actually came up with their own ideas

and created most of it from what they already had.

 cami wanted to be a goofy nerd girl.

 while cari wanted to be a mean biker chick

we went to a church event in lockhart where they had fun with their friends 

and received waaaaay too much candy!!!

this is cami with pastor jennifer.

(she is from the 40's and married to captian america a.k.a. pastor brandon)

cari receiving a tattoo on her forehead from our new friends patrick and sarah.

she looked past the princess tattoos and went straight for the car one.

cari with her good friend macy.

cari and dad on the hay ride.

cami with her best gal naomi.

and of course you have to end the night dancing the robot with mr. lego man.

hope your night was as fun as ours :)

my first time

my first time voting was done in this building...

i was registered in ottine, tx at the time.

my parents lived in the country and this was our post office.

the building was built in the late 1800's and yes, this is where we got our mail.

a couple of old ladies had set up a voting area inside and my

mom met me there. i think i was the very last one to vote for the day.

(i think i might have used a pencil, but i can't be sure)

once i cast my vote, the ladies, along with my mom, clapped and cheered for me.

i thought it was a little corny at the time, 

but it ended up being a very sweet memory for me later on in life.

today, i am early voting at the hospital where i work.

i know i will wait in line, cast my vote electronically and

hear no cheers from the workers or my mom, but i might get a sticker :)

happy voting everyone!

nice day out of the office

this past thursday our school went on a field trip 

to the rocky creek corn maze in moulton.

i was not originally planning to attend; however,

my husband decided at the last minute to take off

from work and tag along. he wanted me to follow suit, so i did.

normally i would not be able to do such a thing, but the

doctor i work for is out of the country, so i

had the flexibility to be spontaneous for the day.

it ended up being a beautiful day at the farm.

the kids got to experience everything they had there 

and chad and i were there to document all the great memories.

 cari was excited!

 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade 

 they had a fun hay slide that they went down many times.

chad and i even tried it.

this was the view of the corn maze from the slide.

 they also had a huge trampoline to jump on.

 

 this was the coolest thing ever. chad and i also tried this out! super fun!

our group also got to go on a hay ride that toured the farm.

this is cami and her teacher, mrs. vance.

 

they got to see baby cows on their trip.

 

 here is chad milking a fake cow. he was only able to squirt out water!

 during our lunch, we made friends with katydid. 

 we could see it breathing.

 once we finally entered the corn maze, we found all kinds of things.

 

 this looked like corn cancer.

 the plants are very interesting.

 can you see the 2nd grade class?

 we answered questions along the way to find out which way to turn.

 they all wanted to ride together on the barrel train after the maze.

they also got to shoot corn out of a special cannon.

if you hit the target then you get a free drink.

 

here they are pretending to be in a video game.

 the sand is really lava...

 they were allowed to climb on everything, and so they did.

 we also wondered in the butterfly garden.

 these flowers always remind me of alice in wonderland. 

 they had a neat spider web to crawl on as well.

 that would be a ring pop in her mouth. i got tired of holding it!

we had a great time. cami's teacher told chad and i that 

we were a lot of fun and had to attend every field trip 

from now on. i doubt that will happen, but i am glad

that we were able to make this one!