Birthday Month Continues

For those that don't know, I have two children who have birthdays exactly 3 years and 5 days apart. This has proven tricky for celebrating until a friend shared her brilliant idea years ago that you get a party on your even years and a small celebration on the odd years. This has helped my sanity and given the girls something to look forward to every other year. Since we just celebrated a 16th birthday, we had a more laid back celebration for our 13 year old, Petra. Another transition for us as parents into having teenagers- plural.

We have a high school student, middle school student, and elementary student. So it's not even like straddling between two scenarios, but sometimes feels like gymastics with doing full-on splits as we navigate the various scenarios of parenting across that spectrum.

Thinking about her arrival, she was undoubtedly a tool of God used to humble us as parents who thought we had it all "figured out." She was our only thumb-sucker, only tummy sleeper, only colicky baby, our pickiest eater from day one, and she was also the most petite (all the L&D nurses said it was the smallest baby they had ever seen full-term!), and she was also the snuggliest of them all as well.

My middle daughter is contemplative and artistic and creative and we love her so. She is so uniquely her own person. I still can't get over how much I see myself in all three of my very different children. Again, one of God's good gifts to me.