Dear Ruthie

Oh my sweet, fiesty Roo Roo. Happy 9th Birthday! Its hard to believe that 9 years ago I held you in my arms for the first time. One of the first thing I noticed about you was the sparkle in your eye. I knew then that you would give me a run for my money but that you would also bring lots of FUN to our lives. One of my favorite memories is bringing you home from the hospital, putting your carrier down on the floor, and watching your eyes light up when you saw your sisters. From that day on you wanted nothing more than to be a part of whatever they were doing. And it didn't take long before you wanted to be in charge of whatever they were doing! When JP was born you happily stepped out of your role as baby of the family and into your role of big sister. I love watching the relationship you have with each of your siblings. You and Emmie clash the most (there seems to be discrepency about who is the oldest and therefore in charge of everyone) but over this past year you have grown a lot closer. You and Ellie have always gotten along well and I love that y'all will play calmly together for hours. You and JP are incredibly close and always have been. I feel like y'all are always cooking up some kind of mischief! This year was a great year for you. You learned how to ski and really enjoyed it. This year you did summer swim team, finally mastered breastroke, and made it to championships and classics. You are definitley a fierce competitor and love to win. This year you played soccer for the first time and really enjoyed it. This year, after many, many nights of crying you stopped sucking on your fingers. It was way past time but I do feel like that was the last "baby" thing you had and I miss seeing my little curly headed baby with her fingers in her mouth. We went to Dollywood quite a number of times this yera and you rode your first roller coaster. You weren't a huge fan of it but you usually rode it once each time we went. We also went to Dollywood water park and you were the only one who would go with me on the slide with the really big drop. This year you wore your penguin hat more days then not...you sure do love that hat! You still drag your nasty pillow around everywhere you go and never go to bed without it. You love legos, baby dolls, calico critters, squishmellows, games, roller skating, and ART. You have turned into quite the little artist and I love seeing your creativity! This year you did an oral challenge for shellfish and apparently you aren't actually allergic...yay! (However you are most deifinitely allergic to cats.) You are fearless most of the time (I cringe every time I see you roller skating). This year you finished 2nd grade and started 3rd grade and you are absolutely thriving at school. You have made a really strong group of friends at and I am so thankful for the sweet friendships you have. I love that you have friends who will be your biggest cheerleaders and also aren't afraid to call you out if you step out of line (and of course you're not afraid to call them out either). I know with these friends by your side you will always be ok! Ruthie you have a BIG personality. You are very determined and you pretty much always acoomplish whatever you put your mind to. And if its soemthing you don't want to do then its probably not going to happen until you decide to do it. I know that this determination will serve you well as you grow older but it can make for some rough moments when you're a kid. I can't wait to see what you can accomplish when you use your powers for good...you will do BIG things! You are a "no holds barred" kid. You say what you think and have no problem calling people out. You say what is on your mind with no regrets. You feel BIG emotions about everything and you generally let us know exactly what you're feeling. When you're happy you give HUGE hugs. When you worry you become obsessive with your worries. When you're mad you can give a cold shoulder that a teenager would be proud of. You are fiercely independent and you want to do everything yourself. One of your favorite sayings is "Ruthie can handle it. Ruthie doesn't need help." Sweet girl, I am so happy that I get to be your mom. I love watching you grow into your big personality. I love watching your achievements and I love seeing you work hard to meet your goals. I love your determination. I love the sweet snuggles I will occasionally get and I treasure the moments when you want to crawl in my lap and just sit with me. I can't wait to see what this next year brings for you Ruthie Roo!

Dear Emerson

Dear Emerson Jane, Happy Birthday sweet girl! You are 13 years old today. An official teenager! It feels like just yesterday we brought you home from the hospital while also feeling like you have been part of our lives forever. This has been a great year for you. You finished 6th grader and started 7th grade. You became a pretty good skiier and love skiing. You did summer swim and had a great season. You decided to stop playing soccer and take up year round swimming. You discovered that you like roller coasters. You went to church camp for a week. You became a member of our church, which brought us great joy. You got round 1 of braces off. You grew many inches in height and your feet grew about 3 sizes seemingly overnight. You have been off seizures meds for almost two years, something we had come to peace with never happening. This year you have become much more independent with your school work. Because of your adhd, things that require lots of executive functioning skills (like school) are more challenging. But you have worked hard to figure out what strategies work best for you. After so many hard, hard years where everyday felt like a struggle I have loved watching you thrive this past year. One of the things I see in you that makes me so proud is your persistence and dedication. You are an incredibly hard worker. Because of your learning disabilites you have to work so much harder in math than most kids your age. Because of your seizures and the medication you were on you had to work so much harder to focus and you often had gaps in your learning. But I watch you sit and work and try so hard and rarely complain about all the extra time it takes you. I would never wish struggles in school on anyone but I love how it has shaped you into someone who truly understands what it means to work hard. Even when your grades don't reflect all the hard work you put in you STILL work hard. I have seen the defeat and dissapointment in your eyes and you have a moment and then continue to work. You generally don't get down on yourself when you're not the best at something but you celebrate the small victories and you work harder. And people notice. In fact just today your swim coach pulled me aside and told you what a great kid you are to coach and what a hard worker you are. Your teachers at school tell me often that you are such a hard worker. I hope that as you grow older you see the beauty that has come out of the hard. When we welcomed you into the world thirteen years ago we never dreamed what the next thirteen years would hold for you. There have been big challenges and big joy. We have cried with broken hearts and we have cried tears of laughter. You have faced things that I never would have wished on anyone and you have come out stronger. We are incredibly proud of the person you are. You are kind and caring. You are funny and sensitive. You are a helper. You love people, all people, and you love to hear their stories and you have a gift for making them feel heard. You are an incredibly hard worker. I don't know what you will do with your life (right now you are between a teacher and a lawyer) but I know whatever you do you will touch the lives of those around you. I love watching you grow up. I love watching you figure out who you are and who you want to be. You are growing into a person I hope you love and are proud of. I hope as we start the teenage years that you remember that God made you and thinks you are beautiful and He loves you for you and He is bigger than all your problems and worries. I can't wait to see what this year holds for you Emmie J! Love, Mom

Dear JP

Dear JP, Happy Birthday my sweet SEVEN year old! Oh how much you have changed over the years. You were our very best surprise. Our surprise baby and our surprise boy (I was pretty confident you were a boy but Daddy was sure you were going to be another girl). You were definitely not the easisest baby and you were quite the grumpy toddler. But in the last few years you have really come into your own. You are a born entertainer. You love to be silly and you say the funniest things and make us laugh all the time! You love to dance and you are pretty chill under pressure. We always laugh at you during swim meets because everyone else is nervous and you're sitting behind the block with your feet propped up chatting with a friend or you're standing behind the block dancing. JP we are SO thankful that you are part of our family. You truly complete us. Also, can you imagine if Ruthie was the baby of the family and didn't have anyone to boss around?? This year you showed off some great skiing skills and we can't wait to see how you will improve this winter, you had another year of swim team which you rocked, you finished kindergarten and started first grade, you learned to read, we took many trips to Dollywood amusement park and the water park. You learned to roller skate. You played on your first church basketball team which you loved. You did all this and so much more! This year I have loved watching you make friends. You have found some great guy buddies in our neighborhood and at school and I love watching these friendships grow. You love any kind of physical activity and being outside, you love using your tool set to build things, you love Dog Man books and all things Star Wars, you love to help out around the house, you love to cook (and eat), you love to play card games and board games. JP you have brought us so much joy. I hope you never lose your sense of humor...it will take you far in life. You are sweet and funny and the best little snuggler and I am so thankful that I am your mom! Happy Birthday JP! Love, Mom

Dear Ellie

Dear Ellie, Happy Birthday sweet Ellie Belly! It is hard to belive you are ELEVEN today! Eleven years ago you were a perfect addition to our family. You bring us so much joy every day. You are such a beautiful part of our family and you are so fiercly your own person. You are my introvert. You can often be found playing or reading alone when everyone else is with a group of friends. You love to read. You don't go anywhere without a book and I've learned not to ask you what your book is about unless I have at least 20 minutes to listen to a full synopsis of the book! I hope you always love books as much as you do now. (And I'm so glad you got my love of reading.) You love the ocean and the pool and waterparks...pretty much anything involving water! You did swim team again this summer and loved it (and made it through the season without breaking a bone...always a plus). This summer you discovered a talent for butterfly and learned that you were also pretty good at IM! This year you tried out soccer and enjoyed it...you had a sweet team and a great coach. You went back to in person school this year which you were SO excited about. Virtual was not your thing. You made lots of friends and loved being back in a classroom. I am so glad you were able to have a pretty normal 5th grade year. It's hard to believe that in just 1 month you, my teeny tiny Ellie, will be starting middle school! I hope you have a wonderful first year of middle school. I know it will be a big adjustment for you but you are so sweet and funny and I hope you will make some wonderful friends! This year you became a member of our church. I was so proud of you and happy for you! You have missed doing theater since we left Columbia. You have tried a few classes here but haven't really loved them. This year we went to watch your BFF Lucy in a show and it made you miss theater even more. So in a few weeks you are trying out for a show in Greenville. You have been too nervous to try out for a show but you are finally ready and I am so excited for you! You also signed up for theater class this as one of your related arts classes at school and I hope you will be able to do theater club at school too. I can't wait to see you light up the stage again! This year we did so many fun things. We went to dollywood and the dollywood water park. We went skiing (you like the big hills but need some further instruction when it comes to slowing down!) and snow tubing. We went to the beach. You spent countless hours with neighborhood friends and school friends. You got to visit Lucy in Columbia a few times. You enjoyed each adventure we had and I loved getting to experience all the adventures with you! Ellie your smile lights up a room. You are a sweet sister and love to spend time with your siblings...except at night...you always choose to sleep alone in your room. You are beautiful and kind and a joy to be with. I can't wait to see what adventures come your way this next year! I love you Ellison Rachel! Love, Mom