Thirteen!!!! Happy Birthday Mary-Michael!

My Dear Mary-Michael, 

My baby girl is now a teenager. Wow, what a treat and still shocking to me that you are this old. Your years left in our home are dwindling too fast! 

You have blossomed into this beautiful young lady with a lot of spunk, a lot of friends and a lot of brains and ideas. You love life and therefore add a lot of life wherever you are. You are thoughtful and love to give gifts to others. You take after your daddy and his generous spirit. You're still Benaiah's best mini-parent and have such a tenderness for him when he's upset. You'll drop just about anything to read to him upon request or tend to him when he's hurt himself. I love and appreciate this about you, and I know you'll be a great mother one day.

Like most young ladies your age, you think a lot about your looks and have therefore become quite the fashionista. Armed with a hair straightener and a curler, you frequently take over the bathroom in the mornings, and since we FINALLY let you use mascara (Merry Christmas gift!), you now take even longer. And frankly, you look much too old for my liking, but that's how it goes, I guess. You still don't have a phone and hardly ever complain. It will come soon enough, but we want to make sure you're ready for the responsibility. 

You really love hand lettering cards and papers of all sorts and have quite the knack for it. This month you were paid to do the hand lettering at a Chick-fil-a for their community board. So neat! Speaking of making money, you've also started babysitting and dog sitting the neighbor's dogs. This is necessary given the love for fashion mentioned above!

You continue to excel in school and love your Grace family. English continues to be your best subject after socializing and gym. You are still a voracious reader, and I pray that never ends. 

Daddy and I truly enjoy being with you (except for when you're sassy), and we know we will have a deep friendship when you are older. You're so much fun, so caring and easy to be with. At your neon-themed birthday party, your friends all took time to share what they loved about you, and the same things echoed: she never leaves anyone out and makes sure everyone is included; she's thoughtful and caring; she's fun and funny. All true!

We love you, we see amazing potential in you and we are proud of you!

All my love,

Momma

Happy 5th Birthday, Benaiah!

Dearest Benaiah,

Wow, 5 years old! What an incredible young man you are. You light up a room with your smile, your silliness and your affection. You give wonderful hugs!

You love all things Spider-Man and anything on wheels. When you’re not outside digging holes or shooting nerf guns, we will find you inside building Legos with Frazier, looking at books or wondering if it’s the weekend so you can watch Spidey and Friends.

You have mostly adjusted to preschool (there are still some mornings you want to stay home), and you have learned to write your name pretty well. Your teachers say you are a wonderful role model and a great helper. When we brought cupcakes to your class for your birthday, you were so excited, and you had me read “Even Superheroes Have Bad Days” to your and your friends.

Daddy is definitely your favorite person in the world, and you are the only one he has allowed in our bed when you have bad dreams. That’s what happens when you’re the baby! Frazier is likely your second favorite, and he is a champ playing just about anything you want to. 

You continue to be a good eater and enjoy cheese, fruit and macaroni and cheese the most. Green Eggs and Ham is definitely your most requested book, and you love music with a good beat so you can dance.

This year, you realized your skin color was not the same as mine, and you also made a statement when looking at some old pictures. You said, “That’s when I was in your tummy.” While we’ve been telling you since you were born about your amazing birth mom, having you make the connection felt very hard. I pray you will not resent us or her for the choices we’ve made.

Benaiah, you truly make our family complete, and we love you so much. No matter what comes or what others say, I pray you always know this.

All our love,

Momma and Daddy