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