3rd Birthday Blessing

Sarah,

You enjoy learning so much and exploring the world God has made. We love how you connect with your faith community at church. "Your people." :) You are three years old, a good friend, a big sister now, our daughter, and a daughter of God in heaven.

Your God the Almighty, who blesses you from the heavens above, will guide your way as you let him lead your heart. Your father and mother are proud of the girl you have become and are thrilled for the woman you are becoming. Sarah, you are our daughter, and we love you. With you we are well-pleased.

Sharing and Stuff

Mommy: Tonight we asked you to go through your toys with us and get rid of toys you don't play with anymore. You were going to put them in a box and we would take them to a place so the toys could be passed on to other kids to make them smile. I was sort of surprised at how well you handled the process. I was expecting some crying but you really seemed to understand (well, at first you said, "That's the box for all the toys I want to take to college," which is from Toy Story 3, one of your favorite movies).

Halfway through getting rid of things, I went into the other room to feed Poema. Later you ran in and told me that you got rid of 51 toys (some were very small). Then, I heard you talking to Uncle Caleb on the phone and you were telling him about getting rid of some of your toys to make other kids smile. You brought up that earlier today at church you did not do that, you did not want to share and make other kids smile when you were playing with the baby stroller. I was so impressed that you connected the two experiences. I was also impressed with Daddy and how he had helped you learn more about your heart through both of those experiences.

Stuffed Animals

Mommy: You have a lot of stuffed animals and I was trying to see if there were any you willing to get rid of. I asked, "Are there any stuffed animals you'd like to sell?" You replied, "No, I want to take them to college." I quickly realized you were connecting to Toy Story 3.

Greedy

Mommy: We took Poema to the doctor's office and after we were finished the doctor offered you a sticker. She noticed as you followed her out the door to get one that you already had four on your chest from the receptionist. I stayed in the room getting Poema dressed. I heard the doctor say, "You can have two, one for you and one for your sister." I then heard the doctor reiterating that you could only have two. Then I heard the nurse say that you needed to save some for the other kids. You came in and showed me two stickers but as we walked out you reached down in the box and grabbed a handful of stickers. I made you put them all back, even the two you were given permission to take from the doctor.

Before bed we talked about times when I love you. Some examples being, "I love you when you're happy. I love you when you're sad. I love you when you're tired and cranky." Then I asked you what happy things had happened and what sad things happened that day. You brought up the stickers and I explained what being greedy meant. I said you were being greedy with the stickers and you wanted more and more. God wants us to share. Then you asked, "Do you still love me when I'm greedy?" The answer is yes although I feel sad when you are greedy.

Chapter Books

DADDY: For the past month or two, we've been reading THE ASTONISHING JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE by Kate DiCamillo before rest times and bed times. You've loved parts and not-so-loved other "sad" parts, but overall, you seem to really enjoy the time reading books with daddy. And I love these times.

 

In Edward Tulane, we talked about

 

(1) how he had to open his heart before someone would come for him and how Jesus comes for us when we open our hearts

(2) how the doll mender said Edward was "exceedingly well made, a work of art" and how that's what your sister's name Poema means, that God sees you as a work of art no matter how much dirt you have on you becuase Jesus can make everything brand new

 

This is not the 1st long book you've read or I've read to you. We've read 6 or 7 other chapter books and you love it.

 

I'll never forget the way your eyes were clinging open when I was reading BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE to you. You were so tired, but you seemed to be totally rivetted, either to the story or to my voice. Either way, it's fun. When I got to the last words of the book, you sighed pleasantly and fell straight to sleep.

 

Awesome.

Magic Treehouse

DADDY: I love being home for the summer. It's so great to get to spend much more time with you and your sister.

 

One of your favorite activities right now is reading the audiobooks of MAGIC TREEHOUSE. You love hearing the adventures of Jack & Annie. It's fun to hear you retell their adventures and put yourself in the story.

 

You started out by getting a free CD from McDonalds, #26 about Gorillas. Now you love #1, DINOSAURS AFTER DARK, which you must've read 25 times now.

 

And the best is watching you search through your stack of "library" books to find the corresponding MAGIC TREEHOUSE paperback. Then you take the book and follow along, all on your own, serlf-guided. You love stories.