Nan,
When there is fun to be found, you find it, Nan Louise. This year of becoming ten felt like a really big one for you in a lot of ways, and you did it all with a smile and often a dance.
You love to be active and you love to be shooting hoops in the driveway or climbing around on the ninja course in the backyard or riding your bike or bumping the volleyball with Becks. You ran another 5k recently and we saw again that runner's spark that you seem to have when you turn it on. We also did a really big hike in Colorado this year over spring break--6 miles up a mountain-- and the next day your dad said he was going to get up early and summit a mountain near our cabin. You asked if you could join him and you and Becks got up very early with him and, sure enough, you summited that mountain on pretty tired legs from the day before AND you wrapped up the day with another 4 mile hike with the rest of us. You've also really taken to volleyball and love to play in the rec league with your school friends. It's been so fun to watch you find a new sport to love. You seem to have some pretty natural athletic tendencies, but my favorite part is just watching you interact with your teammates. You are encouraging and fun to have on the team, and that is a really important role and I hope it's one you grow into more and more.
Speaking of encouraging and fun: you are a GREAT friend. Everyone wants to be around you and be with you, and it's because you care so well for others. You never seem to mind doing what others want to do, and you're easy to be with. You are hilarious, too, doing silly dances or making jokes and you don't take yourself too seriously which allows others to loosen up when they are around you as well. We have discovered that spelling is very difficult for you, but I think you'll manage just fine in life because I'd rather you know how to be a good friend than how to spell "maracas."
You've grown a lot in your desire to love the Lord as well, and you love to talk about Bible stories and know a lot of verses for different moments. I really saw you "own" your own faith this year, and that resulted in you making the big decision to be baptized. We were so proud of you, and we pray, like Paul in Philippians, that "your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding" (1:9). What summits of our great God you have yet to explore! I'm so excited for you!
This year for your birthday we let you pick something fun since it was your tenth birthday (your sister's both went to concerts for theirs). We ended up going to a Cat Cafe in Kansas City where you got to love on some cats for an hour and you were in absolute heaven. You adore cats and so it was the perfect choice. Your dad loves you so much he even went in with you (despite being allergic!). :) Then you wanted to eat at your favorite: Olive Garden, and you also wanted to spend the night at Brandon's house because he has an amazing basement and you played pool and we watched a movie. It was a really fun time to just be with you alone. Afterwards your dad and I were talking and we said to each other that we can really understand why you have so many friends: because you make everything more fun and enjoyable just by being with you.
You've grown a lot this year in your confidence and also we have seen your anxiety go way, way down. I think in big part this is because of the Holy Spirit in your life, as you have given your life to the Lord and he promises to send us the Spirit as an advocate and friend to be with us at all times. And just because you're younger doesn't mean you get a small dose of the Spirit, but the full thing. And I truly think that has helped you, but also our school has been a great environment for you to grow and be yourself and be prayed over and it has made a huge difference. We are so very grateful and proud of you.
Nan, life would be so dull without you and your bonkers dance moves, or tell us that "tall things make you cringe out" or when I took you kids out for coffee and then to a thrift store and you said, "When I go shopping and get coffee and stuff I just feel like I'm in New York City." You just see life through magic dust and dance parties and goofy stories. You also have big feelings and worries, but as a whole, you are still the little girl who once told your dad, "I love love." I hope your legs never lose their wobbly jello moves, your voice never stop bursting into random songs, and your heart never stops being moved in big ways by things around you.
As always: your dad and I hope you always understand the why behind our no-s. We hope you feel safe in the boundaries we set. We hope you feel freedom in the wide open places we leave for you. We hope you see God in our actions and words. We hope when you leave our little home for good and go out on your own that you'll look back on this simple little life we had together-- chaos and mistakes and messes and all-- and see that it was grace that held us together; that you see that it was God's daily bread that provided it all.
Happy 10th birthday, Nan Louise! We will always come for you, and there is nothing you could ever do to make us stop loving you!
