She's Eleven!

This post is late in coming, since Sweet Pea's birthday was actually two weeks ago, but I'm finally getting around to documenting it. This precious girl, the girl who made me a mom after years of praying and hoping, is ELEVEN!! Honestly, my sharpest memory is not even of the moment of her birth, but of the morning we found out that I was pregnant with her. The joy that she brought us that morning has continued and grown over the past eleven years, and I think God for her.

Sweet Pea is a pretty serious girl. Some of her siblings (who shall be un-named for this moment) are downright silly, but Sweet Pea tries to help us maintain a certain level of dignity in this crazy family. She is steady and kind. Her affection and encouragement have helped me through many a difficult moment. She is bold in her convictions, and more than once has called me to account (quietly and respectfully) when my attitude was less than godly. She is a priceless treasure, and I am so thankful for her. I thought I would be sad to see her growing up, but the truth is that I am enjoying her so much that I only look forward to knowing her as a young woman, and as a sister in Christ.

She loves books, crafts, and cooking. She has a servant's heart, and is often coming up with creative ways to love and serve her siblings, especially her little sisters. They are often the recipients of piles of home-made paper dolls or clothes for their dolls or stuffed animals. And she is Tiger's best friend and confidante. She is a treasure.



This is a picture of Sweet Pea and Boo at the State Fair. Sweet Pea used her spending money at the fair to buy Boo a pony ride (and convinced me to use mine to pay for Sunshine's ride!)

Sweet Pea also loves horses. She reads about them, draws them, makes horse paper dolls, and dreams of owning one someday (her life's ambition is to be a mom with seven children who lives on a farm and has a horse!) Sooooo, for her birthday she and I went for a trail rider in the mountains together. I hadn't been on a horse for...well, I won't say how long. And she had never ridden on her own. We suprised her with this gift, and I have to say that it was absolutely lovely. I don't know which of us enjoyed it more. Most of the pictures I got were of her horse's backside (I was riding behind her), but here are a couple of pics of her birthday present. (By the way, for any other moms who undertake riding a horse after many years, I strongly advise stocking up on Advil. Go ahead and take some before the ride.)







Happy birthday Sweet Pea; we couldn't love you more.