Britt's 9th Birthday Letter { From Mommy}

Britt’s 9th Birthday Letter {From Mommy}

Dear Britt,

I cannot believe looking back over the pictures through this last year to see HOW MUCH YOU’VE CHANGED! You are growing up right before my eyes and I know how thrilled you are to be entering the world of nine.

You have always been my sunshine and your light has shone brighter and brighter with each passing year. We joke often about how you were a tough baby and how that was a smart strategic move on your part because every year just gets better and better with you. More and more fun and easier and easier in the parenting department 😉

You have a natural gift for making others feel special and for drawing them in. You are SO FUN. You make even normal, daily experiences more fun and you get super pumped about everything. It makes it hard not to spoil you because you have the best gift opening reactions ever!

I hope you never let that joy and excitement dim! We have talked about how Satan sees our talents for God and will try to attack those and you have done an incredible job of fighting Satan when he attacks your joyful spirit. You work hard to overcome those pessimistic “storm cloud” moments and I have loved watching you draw closer to the Lord and grow in your faith.

My proudest moment yet of being your mama happened this year when you made THE biggest decision of your life by putting on God in baptism!

We are SO proud of you and so excited to know that you will spend eternity with God and Jesus in Heaven! You take your faith very seriously. You studied so much before making the decision and you’ve only continued to study God’s Word and draw closer to Him now that you’re a Christian. I love looking over at you during church services. You are always paying attention to the worship service and will lean in to ask me questions during the lesson. You’re following along which is so awesome!

2020 was a c-razy year. Out of us all I think it hit you the hardest BUT it was such a HUGE opportunity for personal growth and you did AMAZING in finding the good in the circumstances and seeing God’s blessings through the trials.

It broke my heart to have to disappoint you over and over. The school year ending way too soon. Gymnastics gym closing down. Our cruise being canceled. No Georgia Bible Camp. As your mama MY hardest part of 2020 was having to tell you bad news over and over again and to have to see your sweet eyes brim over with tears.

BUT you handled it all SO well. You said our make-up trip to Universal was even BETTER than a cruise would have been. You embraced the inability to do gymnastics and found a new love in yoga. And then when a new gym opened – you have said you love it even more than your old one. You have constantly said how many GOOD things have come from the crazy of 2020 and I LOVE seeing you find that perspective. It’s inspiring to me too when I feel down!

Being your mom is one of my greatest gifts. I love all of our moments together and as you’ve gotten older that bond is only stronger which means THE world to me. When you say you want to look like me or be like me it fills my heart so much. I strive to be the best mom I can be for you and hearing you say you look up to me helps me feel like I’m doing an okay job at this mama thing 😉

I know you are super eager to grow up so you can be part of my book club with my friends and so we can take girl’s trips like I do with Aunt Katie…but don’t rush too much sweet girl. Each stage is wonderful and fun and an adventure worth living to the fullest!

Now that you are getting older we ARE able to do more together and especially have deeper talks and more opportunities for deeper connecting. I love our bond as mother and daughter and have full faith that it will transition into that friendship bond when you reach adulthood.

You love your role as a sister. You are at that stage where you and Kye kinda drive each other crazy but you still adore him and just want him to notice you and give you attention 😉 You are an INCREDIBLE big sister to both Tess and Spear but especially Tess.

You do so great playing on her level and it’s obvious you truly do consider her your very best friend. That relationship is SO important as your sister is a true gift to cherish in your life and I love knowing you’ll always have each other no matter what. Seeing the two of you together is something so special!

This year you’ve really become much more interested in Spear as well and he is funny the way he’ll choose you over Tess just to drive her crazy ha! You love snuggling him and reading with him and he’s so lucky to have you to help look out for him and guide him in life.

I love your natural confidence and my goal as you start to enter the pre-teen stage of life is to make sure to have that inner confidence be something you continue to have. I love when you look in the mirror and say “I am so pretty!” YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!

But it’s also so true that more than your outer beauty it’s that inner beauty that shines the most. You are so kind to others and are always aware of the kid in class who may feel left out and do a great job of bringing them in. You’re an includer and have a natural ability to help lift others up. I believe that this natural talent will not only take you so far in life here on earth but will be such a strong tool for bringing others to the Lord.

Right now you still love baking and have a game plan to teach gymnastics a couple days a week, stay home with your kids a couple days a week and bake a couple days a week. I love that you KNOW yourself so well and KNOW your passions. So many people spend a lifetime trying to figure out what they love but you KNOW your “things” and they are gymnastics and baking!

I’m interested to see as you get older how these passions may change. You also LOVE Harry Potter. You’re still my Disney girl but you have told me that the way I feel at Disney is how you feel at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – it is your HOME and happiest place.

I do miss the stage where you talked with a British accent all the time 😉 But your love for all things British is very much still alive and you listen to Harry Potter audio books on repeat NON-STOP around the house. Anything HP related – you want it and we’re excited to be redecorating your bedroom to fit this theme since it’s something you love so much!

You are not only passionate about these things but you are also very passionate about your school work and being a good student. You love learning and math is your favorite subject which I think is so neat as it’s not a “typical girl” subject!

You love being a “teacher’s pet” and while the current school guidelines frustrate you more than the other kids…you’re also THE most grateful one to be BACK to in-person learning. You’re a true extrovert (like your mama) and gain energy by being around others. You crave that social interaction and so much time at home def had an impact on your mental health.

I’m so, so thankful you’re able to be in that school building each day and back with your peers. It’s been such a great school year because we appreciate it in an entirely new way for sure!

ttttt

I am so excited for this upcoming year with you. Hopefully life starts to return more and more to what it used to be and that will mean MORE TRIPS. You get that travel itch just like I do and are eager to be back to making those special memories that travel allows us to have together.

Third grade was one of my favorite years at school and I know you’ll continue to rock it and love it! I’m excited to enjoy our Universal passes this year and allow you the opportunity to ride your favorite rides and explore allllll the HP details as much as possible before the passes run up 😉

I’m also excited to continue to deepen our bond. You have never been a super deep thinker and as you’ve gotten older you’re starting to have those more in-depth heart to heart kinda talks with me and I savor those moments so much.

I want you to know that I am ALWAYS here for anything. At any time! You may go through times where you don’t necessarily like me very much. I’m your mama and it’s my job to raise you to God’s standards and I know that means that sometimes you won’t understand or won’t agree and may feel distant from me. But even in those times where you pull away – I am STILL HERE and I STILL LOVE YOU.

There is nothing in this world that will ever, ever stop me from loving you and supporting you and cheering you on. I’m ALWAYS in your corner and have your back and am here to hold you when you need a hug, lift you up when you feel like you’re falling, lead you back when you’ve veered off the path, and celebrate with you when you triumph.

You are my special first daughter. I always dreamed of being a “girl mom” and because of you that dream came true. I’m so thankful you are mine and that I get to be your mom. I love you so, so much!

Happy 9th Birthday! Love,

Mommy xoxoxox