Monday, March 13, 2017

Lucy {year 6}

Dear Lucy,

So this is six. 

More tiny glimpses of the young woman you'll be.  You already have such a depth and steadiness about you, yet all the light and fun that should be there as well. 

You are tremendously bright.  It never ceases to amaze me how quickly you absorb a new skill or new information.  And that usually happens because of your love of reading.  You are tearing through chapter books at a rate that is somewhat challenging to keep up with., trying to remember you just turned 6 and not 10.  I want to always remember how at 5, you got a lamp on your side of the bed and you get to turn it on once your sister is asleep and stay up reading for a little bit.  Your favorite nights being the ones where I forget to come tell you to turn it off and once I remember I come find you curled up under the quilt, eyes heavy and grinning, but still turning those pages.  I want to remember the mornings I'd start to get worried that you hadn't woken up yet and I'd go back to your room to find that you had been up, just reading in bed.  The Boxcar Children, Little House on the Prairie series, Charlotte's Web, The Never Girls series, Anne of Green Gables and more.  I'm excited to see where the year 6 takes our book list.

Lucy, you have always been a pretty good rule follower.  Even as a baby and toddler, you'd pick up on things like, 'hot' and 'danger' the first time and steer clear.  Part of that has been a drive to get approval and praise for doing the right thing.  It was something that sometimes made my job a little easier, but something I knew I wanted to keep in check.  I didn't want you growing up and becoming reliant on seeking that from those around you.  I didn't want the pressure of external expectations of others to constantly bear down on you or for you to ever be manipulated by a desire for praise or approval.  And Lucy, I am seeing this beautiful, subtle shift and growth in your 6 year old self.  I'm seeing more and more of an awareness in your heart of who created you and whose you really are and it is so powerful.  You have told me things about the Lord that take my breath away.  I know you hear Him and you know He's with you.  And it has strengthened this quiet confidence and security in you and it keeps your focus off what others think of you in such a freeing and positive way.  I will forever remind you of the One who created you.

Lucy my prayer has always been that when I look at my children, I see them as who God created them to be.  I want to do that even more so this year.  The way you constantly move furniture and tie things together and cut and tape paper with such purpose, and create forts and homes and inventions.  The way you are always writing and singing songs and choreographing dances.  And while you're dancing, you'll be telling me what is happening around you, on the stage, the set, the other dancers, and I know you are seeing every detail in that little head.  I know every time you move things and create and construct there is purpose and I want to spend more time trying to see it through your eyes.  Celebrating and soaking in exactly who you are right now.

Something else I want to remember, a reminder to always seek the Lord, and to seek Him with the awareness that He will answer.  Several months ago your Papa heard from the Lord and we trusted the voice inside and humbly and faithfully decided to change directions with your care.  And baby girl, you are doing beautifully.  We've been able to manage your arthritis with good and safe things going in your body.  We know there's not a one size fits all solution for everyone, but we believe the Lord will guide us with what's best for you.  And we continue to believe that no matter what's ahead of you and your journey, you are already held and protected and your life is and will continue to be full and lovely.  We know His plans are good Lucy, and I am just so thankful to get to be a part of yours.

The night of your birthday I crawled into bed with you.  We talked about the day and you told me it was the best birthday yet.  We talked about being six and you started making a list of things you wanted to do during your sixth year.  It's quite a list!  But I will do my best to help you accomplish what your little heart desires and I will continue to enjoy my time with you, delighting in who you are.  What a treasure you are as a daughter, as a sister, as a friend to all who know you.

Love,
Mama

Lucy's 6th year goals

1.  learn to embroider/sew/weave
2.  learn some French
3.  learn more on the piano
4.  grow a bigger flower garden and make my own flower arrangements
5.  write some books
6.  cook a dish all by myself
7.  learn to braid my own hair
8.  have more animals to take care of
9.  learn to write cursive
10.  learn to enjoy eating more vegetables (okay so I might have added this one, but the rest were all you my dear!)