Monday, September 20, 2010

Happy Birthday, Karis!

A {short} year and 16 days after Ethan came along, Karis joined our little family. She was sweet and gorgeous from day one...and all three of us fell in love with her.

It seems that Karis has spent much of the first six years of her life being "Ethan's little sister". She learned ABC's with him, potty trained with him, laughed with him, loved Star Wars with him, shared a bedroom with him...sometimes because she wanted to...and sometimes because that's just the way life is when you're born that close together.

I love that in the past several months, Karis is finding herself. She's strong and great at gymnastics. She creates amazing abstract art. She loves broccoli, but not asparagus. She has an eye for making beautiful jewelery. She can catch fish likes it's nobody's business. She loves animals and wants to be a veterinarian. She doesn't like soccer so much, and wishes there was cross-country for elementary school. She is embracing her role as big sister more and more every day. She's still painfully shy, but her friends are starting to number two hands instead of two fingers. She can share the gospel story {even if it is only with her little sister at this point} like she just graduated from seminary.

Although there are days our personalities clash and I'm much too hard on her, I love this girl like crazy. I don't know what I'd do if God hadn't surprised us with her. Lord, please guard this little girl's heart, mind, and body as she grows into a young woman in the coming years. We pray that she will continue to cherish things that are pure and innocent, and that she will gain the confidence to share Your Love Story with everyone that she meets.

1 comment:

Amy said...

She is so beautiful! You have a great family, Val! I can't believe they are all getting so big. I remember when each of them were born!!! ;-)