Flamboyant

 My Flamboyant Tree. My favorite tree. I have come to love this tree, of which I have two in my yard. I find it striking, with its rather smooth skin-like bark. It's branches are bare now, but in the driest hottest part of the year it will bloom beautiful flowers and large fern-like leaves. It is lovely. It reminds me of an elephant, or a dinosaur, with it's wrinkles and limb-like base and branches. I never tire of looking at my tree. Or photographing it. Or sitting under its shade. Nothing beats the shade provided by a tree. It is cool and soothing and peaceful. It lures you to sit and be still with the promise of rest and day dreaming and easy breathing under it's outstretched limbs. 

This tree makes me happy. Joy in simple things.

Strawberry picking

On Saturday morning we went to pick our own strawberries from a large farm tucked away on the outskirts of Ouagadougou.

The kids each brought their own basket and we set off to spend the morning collecting berries from this wonderful little strawberry patch.  My sweet little Marvi-girl.

It was the first time we had been strawberry picking since living in Nebraska many years ago, and the girls were SO excited! Sydaleigh wasted no time finding the best berries and filling her basket fast.

 

Steve had a good time too, but mostly because his friend Jonah came. He liked picking strawberries for a while but then he just wanted to play with his buddy. =)

This man stayed with us the entire time and talked to us about the farm, what is planted, why they only plant strawberries once a year (because that's the way it's always been, he said), how they plant a cabbage on the front of each strawberry path to keep bugs and insects away (not sure why/how that helps but that's what they do.)

He also stood guard and made sure the kids didn't fall into one of these open wells as they were running back and forth. 

They had many many hand dug wells throughout the farm, approximately 16 feet deep, that they would use to water the crops. They tie a rope to a watering can, throw it down into the well and pull it back up over and over and over again to water the fields. Talk about hard work! No state of the art irrigation systems here!

(they did have one lone hand pumped well, and they use it to clean the food because they know the water is clean)

It was not only fun for the kids but also a great opportunity to just meander up and down the paths and quietly observe the life of the farm and the strength of the Burkinabé as they worked together to harvest, water and clean their crops.

I so often feel like I am stepping back in time thousands of years here in Burkina Faso. Mostly because life just continues to exist in this place as it always has. Despite the fact that the rest of the world is progressing and moving forward by leaps and bounds...here in Burkina, you can step back in time and experience a very simple way of life still embraced by millions and millions of people. They have none to very little modern technology in the majority of places throughout the country as well as very simplistic, primitive ways of doing life. I mean, in the 21st century they are still using hand dug wells like we read about in Genesis and throw a bucket to the bottom to fetch water. But it works. And despite it being exhausting work, it's what they know and they are content to carry on in the same ways that they always have. Sure, there are more efficient ways of farming and watering crops, but this gets the job done too....just with a little more back power and sweat!

Speaking of back power....this is how Burkinabé work in the field, they all bend over at the waist with backs as straight as boards.

They will work in the fields like this all day long, bent in half. Needless to say, they have incredibly strong backs here. They are just strong people period.

This gal was plucking her carrots out of the ground and the girls jumped right in to help her. I remember when we first moved here, they might have been a little apprehensive about working alongside a Burkinabé, because it is such a contrast from our life in the U.S....but now, they don't even think twice. They love it. They embrace it. The kids helped her pull carrots for a little while, Marvelly being really excited about getting three at one time and then we bought some from her, straight out of the ground, for a whopping forty cents.

It was a great morning. We stocked up on strawberries, three kilos worth, got some carrots, cauliflower and cabbage....all of it straight out of the ground fresh. No better way to get your veggies!

"Every hope or dream of the human mind will be fulfilled if it is noble and of God. 

But one of the greatest stresses in life is the stress of waiting for God." 

 -Oswald Chambers (Utmost for His Highest)

Mango rain.

It only sprinkled the lawn and lasted ten minutes but we savored every drop. =)

a "fort"

Many many months ago Sydaleigh asked if we could build her a tree house. Um, no. Then she asked if we could build her a club house. She came to us with a plan and had designed it all out on paper, it was going to be two stories with different rooms and windows and stairs and she created it all and was looking to us with pleading eyes to construct it for her.

We tried to tell her that we are not engineers or architects or contractors and completely lack the skills necessary in constructing a two story club house.....but the girl was insistent. Sweet thing. I love her confidence is us!

Not wanting to disappoint her, I did some brainstorming and came up with the next best thing. Something doable and realistic that I could manage.

I recommended we build.....a platform! It was the best I could do. But I sold it really well, came up with a design and she was totally into it! (whew-thank goodness! No way I could have managed a two story club house....but a platform, now that I can do!)

So, I arranged to have fifty mud bricks delivered via donkey and cart and they were unloaded in our back yard.

I carried each brick to the front of the yard and Sydaleigh helped arrange them, clear the area of rocks and debris so they laid flat.

I recommended we put some poles on each corner and wrap some fabric around them to enclose it a bit, but Sydaleigh liked it simple.

What started out as an elaborate two story club house ended up looking like this. A little platform for the kids to stand on, play school, have their horse club and play around, pretend to be a fort, as she calls it.

And she liked it just as much as the fancy design. Yay for compromise and being content with simple things!

An excerpt concerning the 21 martyred Egyptian Coptic Christians.

"Whatever the world news may say about the brave, martyred 21 Christians who were beheaded by ISIS, His Word speaks the Truth of The 21: “The world was not worthy of them.” (Heb.11:38)

However any very real evil thinks it’s winning & overcoming, His Truth declares that The 21 are the Overcomers, that The 21 overcame “because of the blood of the Lamb & because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.” (Rev.12:11)

And wherever the People of the Cross are, we will remember every one of The 21’s names because they did not forget Him or forsake His name. We will pray for their families because they are our literal family, and we will pray for their murderers because the Cross that’s rescued us, is big enough, powerful enough, loving enough to rescue anyone who reaches for its redeeming grace.

The Cross says that the executioners will not ultimately triumph over the executed. And the Cross says that the executed will not ultimately triumph over their executioners. The Cross ultimately says the One who will triumph is the One who was executed first Himself on a Cross for the executed and the executioners and ushers in an upside down kingdom of real love and new rightness and deep wholeness and pure justice that singularly has the power to break hate.

The Cross doesn’t polarize with Bravado Power — it upends with serving, Bona-Fide Love. 

So the People of the Cross will pray that our faith in our Saviour is worth laying down our life for our Savior.

We will pray that we don’t live lives of cheap grace but of costly Christianity. 

 

We will pray that The 21’s sacrificed lives will stir us to live sacrificial lives.

 

And the People of the Cross will weep prayers for the persecuted Church,  because we are bound to them through the Cross of Christ & because of the Cross of Christ they are UNBOUND, UNDEFEATABLE, UNDAUNTED, & UNFORGETTABLE. 

When the voice of ISIS warns on that video, his voice brash and brazen in the wind before The 21 about to be martyred: “Safety for you crusaders is something you can only wish for” — it’s hard to swallow the burning ember rising in my throat.

Because he’s right.

Too long The People of the Cross have crusaded for safe lives, too long we’ve wished for comfortable lives, too long we’ve wanted easy lives of vanilla love instead of Cross-shaped Love.

But the People of the Cross — we are done with safe lives of comfort instead of living dangerous lives that speak of the comfort found in Real Love who hung on a Cross." - A Holy Experience 

 

 

Beautifully said, I couldn't agree more. 

Family time.

We were bored and looking for something to do together with the kids after dinner one night. I had an idea that we could hula hoop. The only problem is that we don't have a hula hoop. Lucky for me I had a light bulb moment and I remembered that the metal ring from Sydaleigh's mosquito net had fallen out and we never got around to putting it back in....so we used that for our hula hoop.....brilliant! 

It's not as easy as it looks. Hula hooping with a metal circle was quite challenging, and didn't feel very good in the mid section.

So then we took turns rolling it down the hall and trying to hit each other with it. The kids liked that a lot better. =)

You had to run away as fast as you could before the "hula hoop" gotchya.

Or dodge it between the legs like Isaak. Whoo, that was a close one!

We have certainly found some very creative ways to stay busy and have fun together here! Good times. =)

Venez avec moi.

A young girl, waiting between the walls of her stone cemented home. 

A young girl, waiting under a tree outside her village.

A young man, waiting for a car to pull over to buy some of his eggs.

Moments.

-I was driving through town the other day. I had the radio cranked up high, blaring a Burkinabé song of children singing in Mooré. I had the windows cracked down. Steven was sitting in the back seat eating a sweet juicy mango, skin and all (in true Burkinabé fashion) given to him as a cadeau from my veggie lady.

-Last Friday we went for a walk as a whole family. Isaak got off work early. So when the girls got home from school in the late afternoon I recommended we go for a walk to the new ice cream shop that just opened up near our house. It was just a couple streets away. The sky was overcast and cloudy, a nice treat given that it was 102 degrees. The sun stayed behind the clouds the whole time and we had a rare opportunity to walk without the sun beating down on us. There is so much to see when you walk. I miss walking. We used to walk everywhere, all the time, when we first moved here. But as life has it, when our car arrived a few months later it was easier and more convenient to drive places. But walking is nice. I asked the girls if they remembered all the walks we used to take a couple years ago when we didn't have a car and the memories came gushing out. "Remember that one time on our walk when we saw a dead crocodile in the sewer?! Do you think it's still there?!"

Goats, chickens, and stray dogs scurried past us, meandering up and down the roads munching on garbage and an occasional green plant.

Noises came from every direction. The cacophony of goats bleating, motos zooming by, horns honking, music playing from the maquis, children shouting "Nasada, nasada!" as we walked by.

We walked up and down the dusty garbage strewn streets, not bothered by the complexity of smells wafting though the air, smells of sewage, food, animals, burning trash, all mixed together to create the unique and pungent smell that is Burkina. These smells and streets have become associated with our home here. 

It's so much easier to walk here now. I thought about that, as we traveled up and down the roads, knowing that people were looking at us as we strolled by, but no longer feeling self conscious about it. Feeling at ease, confident. Like, we belong here too. Even though it's not my country, it is my son's country and we will always be connected to Burkina Faso. The realization that this country and its unique African culture is a part of our family forever.

-On Sunday Cote D'Ivoire won the African Cup and on Monday their embassy, which is located three houses down from us on our street was celebrating their joyful victory. They were blasting music all day, evening and night long, and as we sat around our table eating dinner that night we listened to the booming music waft in through our windows.

Just a few moments from the past week that brought me deep joy and reminded me of the blessing it is to do life in this country and experience another culture.

I really hate it when.....

.....my band-aid doesn't stick.

Of all the really annoying things in the world, this ranks up there pretty high.

"The workers are few"

"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few."-Matt. 9:37

I often wonder what our world is going to look like in another fifty years? When I'm 80 years old? When my kids have kids? When my grandchildren are grown? When I'm gone and they are still here living.

What will the world look like then? What will the United States look like?

Will it be a better, more hospitable place to live? Or will it be worse? More dangerous?

There is an overwhelming amount of danger, war, sin and cowardly barbaric acts being committed today against each other throughout the world.

The world is not becoming a safer place. Nor is it becoming a fairer place.

People are rivaling left and right for the upper hand. The stronger hand. The louder voice. The most power. We are crushing each other beneath our feet as we disparage our neighbors and countrymen.

There is a war waging against good and evil and neither is willing to relent.

I shudder to think what it's going to be like fifty years from now....if this is what's happening today.

It's heartbreaking to me how many places in the world are facing mounting struggles against injustice, disease, crippling poverty and wars. They teeter on the brink of despair, or worse yet, have crossed the threshold of despair and their lives have become hell on earth. There are people all over our world who daily face mistreatment so unjust and barbaric they have nothing left to live for. People who have been forced to flee from their homes, their countries, have watched their children die, their parents die, children who've been orphaned from disease, abandonment or war, people sleeping on heaping trash piles having to fight away rodents at night, families starving and forced to eat dirt or bark, men, women and children maimed and butchered for having differing religious beliefs.

Their hope has been destroyed. Their very self worth has been stripped bare and robbed from them.

So much of our world treats each other in cruel and inhumane ways. We traffic human beings between borders for the sake of sex or labor. We enlist child soldiers to fight our wars. We kill in the name of our religions. We rob from the poor in order to fund the fat bellies of the rich. We neglect, torture and gun down our fellow countrymen. We beat, rape, and burn each other for amusement. We spread hate and prejudice and greed for the sake of feeling empowered.

The claws of evil are trying to sink their way into the very fabric of our beings and left unchecked....the evil and desperate conditions of our world will only worsen. And spread. And keep on spreading unless more people stand up to stop it.

"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few."

We live in a nice little bubble, our country, the United States, and many other western countries like it. We think that because we are privileged and progressive that we are exempt from many of the conditions facing the rest of the war. We have become indifferent. We look at our country, our cities and neighborhoods and dismiss the notion that there could ever be violent war on our land, poverty on our streets, and children dying in our gutters.

But we're not immune to anything.

We are not exempt from religious persecution,
government mandated abortions,
forced female genital mutilation,
ethnic cleansing,
genocide,
child soldiers,
famine,
overwhelming poverty,
devastating diseases,
or war.

All of these atrocities facing the rest of the world can come to any border. And before America stands up defensive and argues that we do face similar struggles facing the rest of the world....let me assure you....we don't. Not even close. Yes we have crime and poverty. But it is not nearly on the same scale that other countries are dealing with. Not even close.

In my experience of being American and growing up in the United States, it's true that we live in a prosperous nation. Being a prosperous and progressive nation is not a bad thing. But it can, and has, created a barrier of sympathy towards our fellow human beings who are suffering. We have become increasingly indifferent towards the oppression, persecution, and suffering facing so many people.

Most people in the U.S. simply can't relate to the level of suffering experienced by the rest of the world.

And instead of opening our hearts to the hurt of those around us, we dismiss their pain. Because we can't relate to it. Because most people haven't seen it first hand. They have never seen a naked child begging for pennies on the side of the road. They've never seen deformed and crippled men and women walking on their hands asking for food. They've never witnessed overwhelming poverty or war.

I have seen suffering first hand. I have seen suffering. And I believe that we have an obligation to help and assist those in crisis. A duty to stand up and defend those who are weaker and without help. To walk alongside those who are serving in the trenches to fight back the darkness.

Especially the church.

Especially the church.

We have a responsibility to defend those in peril.

But only a few are answering the call.

"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few."

I was thinking about that this week. How few there are. How few are willing to leave it all behind and go. Out into the unknown. The uncomfortable. The dangerous. The far off countries of the world with little to no modern conveniences, no 911 first responders, no familiar languages, or common cultures. They embark into new territories leaving behind every comfort, both tangible and intangible, all for the sake of Jesus. For the sake of seeing His love made evident in all the far reaching places of the world to all the people in it.

They believe that they can help make a difference in this world. To bring Light to dark places. And replace despair with hope and promise. Or at the very least....they are willing to try. They don't want darkness to gain any more ground and they are willing to leave everything behind to do their part in helping to usher in more Light. More healing. More hope.

In the two+ years we have lived in Burkina Faso we have met numerous people who have chosen to leave their countries and serve God in new places. God has blessed us with the opportunity to connect and develop rich relationships with so many missionaries who have chosen to answer the great commission in this radical way.

It has been a very needed learning experience for us, and has opened our eyes to the realities facing Christian missionaries overseas, and all the ways that they are out there trying to impact the world for Christ.

Impacting the world is not easy. It's not for the faint of heart. Or the easily discouraged. Our world isn't getting any easier to live in, let alone minister in.

"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few."

There is a lot of work that needs to be done in this world, but we need more workers. And just as importantly.....we need to do a better, a way better job of taking care of the ones already serving in the field.

They are out there and are up against insurmountable odds at times. Overwhelmed with needs. They are running food programs, sponsorships, schools, orphanages, medical clinics, working with widows and prostitutes, preaching in prisons and villages and hostile environments, translating bibles, teaching life skills, training pastors.

And there is but a few.

Just a handful really.

When you look at the global church, there are only but a few willing to go and work in the trenches of life for Christ. There are but a few willing to hold the hand of a leper. There are but a few willing to feed starving children or comb lice out of a prostitutes hair. There are but a few willing to teach street kids a trade or pray with refugees of war. There are but a few willing to preach in prisons, or learn a tribal dialect so they can share the gospel to people in their native tongue.

There are but a few...

....and we need to do a better job of supporting those willing to minister in the areas of the world where evil and desperate conditions are running rampant.

Because if not them, than who?

Who will go? Who will serve amidst the suffering? Who will volunteer to sacrifice their lives for the sake of bringing Jesus to our ailing world? To our broken and bondaged world.

One of the many things I have learned since living in Burkina Faso, is that sadly, the church isn't doing enough to support the few. Not even close to enough. While the rest of the congregation and church leadership gets to carry on with their lives at home far separated from the cares and concerns the rest of the world are facing...there are missionaries out there, sent by churches or Christian organizations, trying to gain a foothold to love and serve in a foreign land every. single. day. And they're doing it without a lot of support, or enough support.

It's relatively easy for a church to send two teams a year for ten days each to go and support a missionary and their ministry overseas. But what about the other 345 days out of the year?

The body of Christ needs to be more intentional and consistent about the ways it is supporting it's body of believers overseas. We need to be supporting them year round, not just twenty days out of the year. The church needs to encourage its body to participate in being more actively involved in their lives and ministry.

The body of Christ serving overseas is pouring themselves out to the world around them, in addition to their own families, but have very little being poured back into them to make sure their cups are staying filled up as well.

They are out there, day in and day out, doing things like helping to repair bodies caught in the crossfires of war. Consoling the mother who's daughter was abducted and forced into slavery by radicals. Rebuilding homes lost to flooding. Feeding hungry mouths from food shortages. Arranging humanitarian aid to be brought to pastors and citizens who were victims of religious persecution. Pulling babies out of pit latrines who were discarded due to deformities. Trying to teach their own kids school in a 105 degree house because there's no a.c. or fans thanks to a ten hour power cut and then go outside into the village and teach a skill to vulnerable women.

And yet they go. They go. They serve at great cost to themselves and their families. And it's not easy. It's hard word. Exhausting. In every way imaginable. They are seeing suffering and pain on a scale many back at home can never and will never imagine or see with their own eyes. And they do it because that is what Christ called the church to do. They go in an attempt to stop the spread of hate, prejudice and greed. And instead work to spread Christ's love, forgiveness and redemption. They are out there working to combat the effects of poverty and persecution with actions that reinforce dignity, pride, peace, and deliverance. They believe in the very core of their being that Jesus not only saves lives, but He transforms lives. Neighborhoods. Cities. And countries.

And that's the only thing that has a chance of keeping evil from gaining more ground. People willing to go, to actually get up and go, to leave their couches and homes and comfort zones and go out there into the world and share Christ's love. That is the only thing that will change this world.

Christ's love has the ability to change lives here and for eternity. But if the world never hears about it, if the world never sees is, never feels it....if we turn out backs and shut our eyes to the needs of the world and keep His message all bottle up and to ourselves........how will there ever be a change? How will we ever see the chains of poverty and wickedness broken?

There are a few out there, purposefully exposing themselves to the suffering of the world in the hopes of shedding His light on it. They are not shying away from it. They are running to it. Because they see that the "harvest is plentiful" and they want to do everything in Christ's power to live their lives in service of those in need. So that in fifty years the tides may have changed on this earth. And we may possibly see more goodness and healing and less despair and pain.

But they need support. A lot of support.

Let us not be so caught up in inconsequential things or so sheltered within our own lives that we neglect the world around us and forsake the few that are out there fighting to make a difference. We need to support them in their needs as they tirelessly work to care for the desperate needs of our world. The world needs more people willing to run to the sufferers. Not turn a blind eye to them. The missionaries need more believers willing to walk alongside them in Christ's calling to the church.

"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few."

The workers are few. So for those unwilling to go, or for those who can't....we need to make sure we're all doing our very best to support those who are. To partner with them. To show them our support. 

The world isn't getting any easier to live in, so we all need to do our part to keep darkness and desperation from gaining any further footholds.

"But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth."-1Jn. 3:17-18

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Here's some practical ways that the church can support the body of believers working overseas.....

-Missionaries, like all people, really appreciate letters from friends and family.  Instead of posting an impersonal "Happy birthday!" message on their facebook wall once a year, send a letter or email out once a month. Ask about their family. Tell them updates on your life. Ask how the Lord has been moving in their ministry that month. How they're doing spiritually? Ask how they are struggling with cultural differences. Specific ways you can be praying for them. Ask questions about the government and culture that show you are attempting to connect with them in ways that make them often feel unrelate-able to their family and peers back at home. Write a response to their newsletter or life/ministry updates on FB or email. 
-The church can send out a care package monthly, with items specifically needed (or wanted) for their work, or just comforts from home that are not available overseas.
-Set up a volunteer program within the church to send college students, qualified professionals, people with special skills, or anyone willing to to serve, to go and work alongside them overseas for a few months that year and assist them in their work.
-Many believers overseas do not have access to counselors or pastors to encourage them in the struggles that they are facing in their personal lives. The church leadership can set aside time each week to skype with missionaries, or send out a practical video series on marriage, parenting, depression for them to watch if internet is poor quality.
-Offer to pay for them to go on a retreat once a year to help them decompress and recharge.
-Start a prayer group at church designed to meet weekly to pray over their missionaries and the countries they serve in.
-Offer to let them use a second car, or stay in your spare room while visiting stateside.
-Make them a meal a couple times a week.
- Offer to watch their kids for a night.
-Attend a function they are hosting so you can be informed about the work God is doing through their ministry and find more ways you can partner with them.

"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality."-Rom. 12:9-13
 

Dirt

Every single day my clothes end up looking like this.....

Covered in dirt.

It's an inevitable part of living in Burkina Faso.

It will be nice to get back to a country with a little more green cover. But, even so, I will still strangely miss this. 

Sydaleigh turned 9!!!

Sydaleigh turned 9 years old!!!

I can't believe it, my first born child is growing up so fast. She is developing into the loveliest young lady. She is leaving behind the "little girl" phase and transitioning into the "young lady" phase, and it is a joy to watch her grow and mature.

She turned nine while we were in Virginia over the holidays and we celebrated with family by going to Jumpology and then having a little gathering with pizza and cake afterwards.

 The kids had such a great time, jumping and dangling and doing crazy things.

 Emma and Victoria came out to spend the morning with Sydaleigh and everyone had so much fun.

Here is Sydaleigh trying out her new quill. I try to be really intentional with my gifts and get the kids meaningful things, and Sydaleigh has loved the movie Little Women for the longest time and ever since seeing Jo write with a feather quill, she has wanted one as well. So that's what I got her. And, she completely loves it. This girl is a lover of unique things. She's just such a cool kid.

 9 super cool things about YOU!!

My tradition of writing a list for the number of years they're turning with cool things about them. 

Upon returning to Burkina, Sydaleigh wanted to have a small celebration with her girlfriends from school. So we planned a slumber party for all the girls in her class to come over. It really served two purposes, to celebrate Syd's birthday with her favorite friends, and it was a great excuse to have a sleepover...something they have been asking to do since the beginning of the school year! 

These are the sweetest friends a mom could ask for for her daughter.  They are so kind and considerate and all so close. The five of them are from five different countries around the world and it was so cool to sit and listen to their conversations around the table...."when I was in Senegal...when I visited Morocco... when we go to Iceland...I'd like to move to Dubai because....this one time in Denmark...this one time in Ghana....". Not your average conversations from nine year old girls! I love the diversity. I absolutely LOVE the diversity and world awareness that living here has brought into my kids life.

A horse cake I made for my horse obsessed riding loving girl!

The girls played the Wii, had pizza, cake and ice cream, decorated crowns, painted nails, did make-up, and watched movies all night long. They had a blast!

So happy for the opportunity to help my kids make meaningful memories!

Happy birthday sweet Sydaleigh girl! We love you so much and delight in your presence in this family! You are an absolute joy and I count myself blessed to get to be your mom!

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At nine years old Sydaleigh.....

-LOVES horse back riding! It is her new favorite hobby. She adores horses and would very much like someday to own her own horse and stables.
-is a great big sister. She enters into both Marvelly and Steve's worlds and plays with both of them very well.
-definitely a first born! Displays lots of leadership (aka bossiness- ha!) and loves to be in charge and make the rules
-has developed a deep love for reading this year, thanks to the library books "Pony Pals"
-she reads every night in bed before she goes to sleep
-is still super ticklish and loves to be tickled.
-she still really likes shows like Backyardigans and Curious George. Despite the fact that she is getting older she is still sweetly innocent and likes those sweet childish cartoons.
-also really likes "real people" movies, some of her favorites are "Flicka", "Wild Hearts Can't be Broken", "Little Rascals", "Little Women"
-favorite foods are still black bean and cheese quessadillas, macaroni
-has started liking potatoes this past year!! She will eat potatoes now and even say they're "good".
-loves to dress in sporty clothes, like basketball shorts and tanks/tees. She doesn't care about being fashionable or trendy, just comfortable. But she does very much like getting dressed up still.
-wants to be an artist, author, and famous horse rider when she grows up
-excels in reading and writing in school and is progressing in math!
-her feet are almost the same size as mine
-only likes to drink water
-some of her closest friends are Hannah from church and Jada from school
-adamantly believes in the existence of mermaids and tells me that's the first thing she is going to ask Jesus about in Heaven! And her reasoning for belief, of which we discuss frequently, is that, "mom, just because you haven't seen them doesn't mean they don't exist. You haven't seen God, or dinosaurs, and you know they are real. And the ocean is so big that they could be in there and haven't been discovered yet." Smart girl right there! And I honestly can't argue with her reasoning, it's pretty well thought out, so I'm just gonna let her believe in mermaids if she wants to!