Happy 8th Lily (slightly...well more than slightly belated!)

Lily. You are a giggly, lovely, beautiful girl. Our girl. You have grown up so much...in so many ways...inside and out. You love to scream and laugh and run like the wind. Your voice is loud (and high pitched!) and full of joy (most of the time)...usually excitedly recounting a funny thing that happened or making up some funny word to laugh at. Lily, your toothy smile and contagious laughter bring joy to our family....we love you!

These are some things that you are into these days:

- You still need to have your blankie with you when you sleep (it is surprisingly in tact considering it's age and amount of use it gets...long may that last! We don't have a back-up!)
- You refuse to cut your hair and want to grow it super long....like Tangled (we'll see about that...)
- You are obsessed with reading...anytime, anywhere, all day if you could...we love it....the library is THE highlight of the week when you can choose more adventures to read.

Lily and her book(s)

- Some of your favourite foods are: Corn pops cereal (a rare treat in our house), green beans with lots of butter on them, mashed potatoes (or any kind of potato for that matter), cucumbers and cheese (mini sandwiches), chicken tettrazini, salt and vinegar chips, milk (litres of it!!), and butter (according to you..it's a food group!) to name a few.
- You are meticulous at brushing your teeth, washing your hands brushing your hair...and prefer to wear your hair up in a braid or a ponytail...probably so it doesn't get in your face when you are running at top speed (you run often)
- You are a skinny minny girl...I always say as I hold her dainty wrist, "Lil, I could break you like a twig!" (just for fun) and you smile your toothy grin at me and giggle.
- Evie has a current obsession of you...she always asks 'Where is Lily? I want to pay (play) with her?' and you are so good about including her in your games (as is Kaitlyn)...but there are times when you have had enough and I will find you hiding...trying to get some alone time from Evie! :)
- You have several friends (Mackenzie and Noah) who you love to play with (and gallop with) but you have to be in the right mood to put down your book or want to go out...you love to be home Lily.
- You have perfected the skill of galloping like a horse (on all fours) and have recently added jumping over obstacles on all fours as well...very impressive...just not when we are at a person's house whom we don't really know that well...perhaps don't gallop around their living room??!!
- You and Kaitlyn are best friends...you get each other, you play well with each other and have been there for each other through a lot of transition and changes over the years. I love how close you two are in age and friendship.

Lily would love to be a horse! 

- You were made for homeschooling....self-driven, independent, curious and you have a desire to learn new things...thanks for putting your head down and getting it done (most days) without too much motivation from me. That kind of work ethic is going to take you far one day Lily. Proud of you!
-For the first time ever, you had a real paying job....a newspaper route! You shared it with Kaitlyn (and Evie, kind of). Every week you would put the flyers into the papers and then deliver the newspapers to 77 houses in our area. Lots of work but you didn't complain and ran most of the route...rain or shine (it seemed like mostly rain!). We were proud of your hard work Lily!
- You love to run and you run like the wind, but you intensely dislike chasing games.
- You will often draw pictures or write notes to people whether it's grandma or me or Evie or Daddy etc....lots of pictures and notes are created from your hand Lily...you love words...whether you are reading them or writing them. Love it!
- You aren't really that into fashion and will often choose the item of clothing that is at the top of your drawer...much to Kaitlyn's chagrin who will sometimes intervene and 'set you right'...you don't seem to mind (most of the time) and when you do try, you will often use Kaitlyn as a model for how you want to dress. Little sister looking up to big sister...cute! And of course, Kaitlyn LOVES that!
-You still want to be tucked in each night and have a hug and a kiss goodnight....long may that last! I'll take it as I know that won't always be the case.
- You started playing recorder this year and have caught on quickly! I just bought you a new book so hopefully we can continue to learn how to read and play music!
- Your dream came true this year when you were able to take horse-back riding lessons...your little pony Swiper was a good little guy and you were loving life up on his back! Animals are and I'm sure will forever be a passion of yours...your heart is sensitive and compassionate towards animals and you would love to have a pet of your own (i.e: A dog...to which your mean mom has said 'No'....but you can get one when you move out!!)...You do have 2 cats but Whiskers and Fluffy are back in Chad. Hang on a little while longer and you'll be reunited again!

Our Lily

 - You have handled major change with surprising ease Lily...heading back to Chad last Oct only to return without Daddy two weeks later...living in Nana and Grampa's house for two months while we waiting for Dad to come home, moving to Grandma's house for Christmas then into another house to rent a month later...then moving again 6 months later to a house we bought (yay!)...homeschooling throughout and not knowing for sure how long we'd be back in Canada for (we still don't really know). We had lots of chats about the craziness of it all and how unstable everything felt and how stress and discontentment can steal your joy...you saw me struggle but you knew where I drew my strength and assurance from...we lived it out Lily...cuz we had to if we wanted to make it in this crazy life of uncertainty and change. We knew that we could count on God, who never changes and is always there and is totally in control. It was very cool to see and hear you piece that all together and I know it was God who calmed your spirit in the midst of all of that craziness.

Well Lily, you are a joy to us and we love you...quirks and all...you are growing in so many ways and we love that you are in our family.

Happy 8th Birthday Lily!

Love and hugs,

Mom

PS. We surprised you with a Minecraft cake (you were going through a Minecraft obsession at the time) complete with blue jello for the water, chocolate cake for the dirt and green icing for the grass...with some fun Minecraft toppers like TNT and Steve! Then for your actual birthday party (of course we saved it for when we were at the Soontiens farm - cousins - and we had some games and a fun treasure hunt/map game where the prize was BB8 cupcakes...another love of yours! You loved having 2 parties!! Some of the presents you received were: a real bow and arrow, a beanie boo fox, a reading light, and a temporary tattoo marker kit to name a few. All in all, a great birthday!