Happy 6th Birthday, Kit Kat!

Dear Kit Kat,

Today is your 6th birthday! How time flies!

You are an angel, a Mama's girl, a mighty Prayer Warrior, a nature lover, a high-spirited, complex, interesting, dramatic little girly-girl. You love to dress up, play Barbies, play house (you're the mom and Sunshine is the dad), and play baby dolls. Yet you love to catch moths, butterflies, bullfrogs, turtles, and worms. You adore babies and puppies and kittens. You're affectionate and tender-hearted. Yet you can look me in the eye and a lie can just roll off of your tongue. When I question you, your face turns bright red and you continue to look me in the eye. But I know by the color of your face that you did, in fact, eat the Nutty Buddy bar that I wold you not to eat. You like to be good but, in your own words, "I like being good but it's too hard."

Some would say you are the pickiest of eaters. Here's a comprehensive list of what you like to eat: Apple Jacks, cinnamon rolls, the marshmallows from Lucky Charms, scrambled eggs, Trix yogurt (but only Wildberry blue), hot dogs (but only Oscar Meyer, microwaved - not grilled - and NOT bun length), bananas, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches , pickles (you LOVE pickles and could eat them all day long. I seriously worry about the acid from the pickles eating the enamel off your teeth), mandarin oranges (canned, not fresh), grapes (green), chocolate ice cream, "clean" chicken (don't ask), macaroni and cheese (Kraft singles, please), Little Debbies, "Mexican cheese toast (i.e. quesadillas) from Laredo's, a 4 pc nugget Happy Meal from McDonalds (with 4 packets of ketchup), Cheez-its, and Ritz crackers. Like I said, some would argue that you are a picky eater, but I prefer to look at it this way, "Just hand the girl a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and life is good." (Just make sure it's Jif's peanut butter and Welch's grape jelly on white bread with no "dirty" edges!)

You can be out-going and talkative, but at times you are shy and timid. You wear your emotions on your sleeve and I never have to wonder what's on your mind. Although I do have to wonder about what other people think when you say what's on your mind. Like the time you told my friend he had yellow teeth and weird hair. Or the time you told the overweight guy behind snack counter at Target that he looked like a snowman. Or the time you told Dr. Stewart his face was weird.

You speak your mind and I envy you for it. I prayed for a strong-spirited child, and the Lord delivered in a mighty big way. I'm going to need His help to mold this spirit in the right direction, because that's my prayer, to mold your spirit without breaking your spirit (or mine...that would be good).

You are beautiful and emotional and you have brought me closer to my Heavenly Father than I would have ever been. He gave me you. You gave me Him. It is my prayer that I will guide you back to Him.

You are a delight, full of wit and affection. You beg me to cuddle with you at night. And when you have had enough, you speak directly, "Can you please go now?"

You are passionate and dramatic. When you cry, you cry hard. When you laugh, you laugh hard. When you love, you love hard. And when you pray, you pray hard. And when you stomp your foot, you stomp it hard.

You know EXACTLY what you like ("Could I please have apple juice, all the way to the tippy top in a sippy cup please?" age 3. You said it every morning right when you woke up, as fast as you could. Daddy couldn't understand you and thought you spoke Chinese). (Or..."Could I please have a hot dog, cut up, with ketchup and a pickle and a fork?" Age 4 (everyday at noon). You take your time with your arts and crafts. You have an eye for beauty and symmetry and you love to draw and decorate (yes, decorate).

You are trusting and faithful, wide-eyed and curious. Your love of nature and creatures, fish, turtles, frogs, lightening bugs, roly-pols, earthworms, inchworm,s and butterflies. You have caught 3 - THREE - butterflies by cautiously, carefully, and patiently sneaking up on them (for the record, I have NEVER been able to catch a butterfly).

When you are sick and running a fever, there couldn't be a sweet er child. When you are sick and running a fever, you say things like, "Yes ma'am" and No ma'am" and "please" and "thank you." When you are sick and running a fever, I miss my highly spirited, strong -willed child.

You are my angel and I love seeing the world through your precious blue eyes. Life with you is a beautiful adventure and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I've the highest of highs and lowest of lows with you, little one. You are high-maintenance to the enth degree. Yet you love mightily and whole-heartedly, and you live for my love. You are the classic middle child, and have been since the day you were born. But how did you know that you were the middle child even before Sunshine was born?!

As hard as you make it, you love your life. You filled my heart with joy and my eyes with tears when you announced to me the other day, completely out of the blue with a smile on your face from ear to ear, while wearing your favorite new outfit, "I'm happy I'm alive!"

You are your own girl and I thank God for you, precious angel.