Avaree Grace turns FIVE!

My baby is FIVE.  (I have cried buckets over this. In some ways, it has just flown by, and in other ways, we have just made so many memories and life changes together that it seems like you have always been a part of our lives. This little girl made all my Mommy dreams come true!!!!)

Avaree Grace turned FIVE on September 21st! Her birthday fell on a Sunday, but we have been celebrating the whole month, so she has felt very loved and special! 

I took her outside the day before her birthday and told her to strike a pose, and this is what she did! That girl!! :) She is so full of energy, life, love, tenderness, knowledge, hope, and hilarious comments! We love her so much, and she is a constant source of joy in our lives! 

She reads like she is in second grade, and she has the biblical knowledge that would rival just about anyone. She has read her Jesus Storybook Bible cover to cover at least four times (not including the number of times we had read it to her prior to that)! She soaks up language and ideas like a modern day linguist, and I can't even imagine what God has in store for her! This is her last year before going to school for 17+ years, so I am treasuring my time with her! She goes to pre-K on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and she loves it! She is counting by 10s, 50s, and 100s, and she loves, loves school! On the days that she is home, we work on math skills and reading at her level. We are reading our first chapter books together. It blows my mind that she can read them. I've encouraged her and given her the tools she needed to continue to learn and achieve, but her intellect is God-given, and she blows us away every day. We have already begun praying for her Kindergarten teacher!

Avaree loves people. She is 100% her Daddy in the fact that she has never met a stranger and loves to entertain! She is the life of the party, and she would dance all day if she could. Even though she is growing up fast, she still wants to be my baby a lot. She wants to cuddle, and she loves to be held! :) 

We are so proud of Avaree and so thankful for the five years that we have had with her! She has changed me oh so very much, and I know that just like that she will also change the world very soon. It's an interesting balance to parent someone that is so intellectually mature, yet emotionally she is still so little. :) We seek to give her the stability and security that she needs to flourish, while still giving her the freedom to be who God has created her to be--even in her little five year old body! :) 

A couple of months ago, Brandon and I took the girls to a street in Arlington, and our goal was to knock on every door, and hopefully we would be able to talk to at least a couple about Jesus and invite them to LABC. Little did we know that it would be a treasured family memory, and that Avaree would RUN to every door. She would cry if no one came to the door, and she proudly held her LABC card, and talked to every one that opened the door to us about Jesus. She also asked them how she could pray for them, and she challenged us with every word she spoke. We don't know what God will ultimately use Avaree's life and passions to accomplish for His Kingdom, but I know that it will be great. In the same breath, I also know that Satan will try to derail her (and already has), so we are praying daily for her to continue to be bold in her faith and confident in the love that surrounds her!

Just when I think it isn't possible to love this girl anymore, she shows me time and again how precious she is. She is an amazing big sister, and she loves, loves to play, dance, cook, write, read, and be with the people that she loves! She has a unique ability to make everyone in her life feel so very loved! :) 
We love you, Avaree Grace! May you forever understand that "nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow--not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love!" (Romans 8:38) Every day with you is an adventure, and we are so very, very humbled and thankful that God chose us to be your Mommy and Daddy! You are such a precious GIFT!  Love you, Mommy