Saturday, June 26, 2021

day no. 15,587: Callista Janelle turns 1 - 2 - 3 - 4!!!!

Lissa Lou,

In some ways I can't believe you are already four and in other ways I can't believe you weren't already. You are so grown up and yet such a little lady, but whatever you are, you are a force to be reckoned with. You refuse to play second fiddle. You, like your big brother, Finneas, seem to have been born with the gift of an "11." You have the ability to assert and insert yourself into any situation. I am excited to see how God will use that tenacity to teach others about the glory of God. Your name means, "most lovely" and it has been my prayers from the beginning that many would come to see the beauty of God by seeing it reflected powerfully in and through you.

You love looking at your jewelry box on the bed while I work from home. You talk to yourself and pretend to read the note I wrote to you that is kept inside the case of your necklace. You have heard me read it enough times that you even parrot some of the words correctly. It is the sweetest thing to hear you narrating next to me. You frequently ask to put on one of the necklaces and just as often get some of the chains tangled together and then repentantly ask for me help get them sorted out.

You love spending time with your little sister, Juni, and regularly lock yourselves away in a bedroom and play uninterrupted during the day.

You love to read your Bible with me in the morning and sit next to me underlining in pencil verses as you see in my Bible when you look over my shoulder. You often interrupt me to ask me what is happening in one of the pictures in your Bible Stories book as well.

You are a great eater. You frequently clear your plate quicker than any of your siblings. The only one who consistently eats more than you is Atticus and he's got eight years and a Y chromosome on you. 

You LOVE being outside. Any opportunity mom gives you, you take full advantage of it. You feel at home in the backyard. Again, taking after your brother Atticus, in this regard, you could spend most of your day outside without any complaint. Well, at least, no complaints about being outside, you're still young enough that you frequently find something to complain about :)

You love your family and don't like being separated from them. The hardest part of taking naps each day isn't that you have to sleep, but that you have to be kept away from the ones you love all afternoon. You love being around people. You like talking to them, being talked to by them, playing with them, being around them, etc... People are your energy drink.

Your hair is finally beginning to grow, but it is taking it's time. I sometimes wonder how long it would be if you hadn't chopped a good chunk of it off a while back. But you finally are able to have piggies for church and they are adorable when you rock them. They suit you well. 

You have the best smile. Your HUGE eyes light up the entire room. You have a dominant personality and when you use it for good, everyone is blessed by it. But rest assured, no one is ever left wondering if you're around.

You love your big brothers and like being around them. You don't mind mixing it up with them although you are quick to cry fool when you get in over your head... which is often.

You have the best laugh. Your voice is so raspy and you delight in making it even raspier. You are full of life and the joy of living and receive the best things in life with gusto.

You look like the pictures of your mom when she was your age. And if that is any indication of your future, you have a lifetime of beauty ahead of you. This doesn't shock me as the apple doesn't often fall far from the tree. Your middle name means, "God is gracious or merciful" and He has certainly been both to you.

Happy Fourth Birthday sister friend. I am so excited to see how God will grow you over the course of the next year. It will be fun at this time next year to look back and remember the Lissy that was and rejoice for the Lissy that is. By then, you will have new quirks and qualities to thank God for as well as more mature versions of things He is already at work in you doing. 

I love you, Lissy.
Dad.

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