day no. 15,164: penfold... penelope page turns tenfold

Penelope Page Van Voorst,

Say, "Goodbye" to single digits and, "Hello!" to the last year of using one set of hands to communicate your years, because today, you are ten years old!

You love to bake and cook and be involved in the planning, preparation and serving of meals. You are a prolific writer and have filled up a google drive folder full of fantastical stories. You are an aspiring pianist and regularly compose songs which you delight in performing. You almost always have a book with you and read ravenously. You are smart as a whip and cute as a button. You are growing in independence and dependence in all of the right ways. You are taking responsibility for your self and for those around you. You want to serve and use your freedoms to bind yourself to others. Your curly hair is just game over. You are a beautiful young lady, yet you place little confidence in your outward appearance. Just the other night you made the comment that you are happy that God is growing you in outward beauty, but you are most interested in growing in internal beauty. You have been given a wise heart and I'm so excited to watch you grow into it.

Proverbs 31:28-31
Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
“Many women have done excellently,
but you surpass them all.”

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the gates.

You desire to be a wise women. You want to be like your mom. I can think of no better goal in life. She is a great mother and you have been blessed not only to have her as a mom, but to realize the gift you have in her at such a young age in wanting to emulate her and be like her.

I love you, little lady. I love being your dad. I love that you love me. I'm so glad God made us family. You are a Van Voorst through and through and I can't wait to see how you advance the baton we're working hard to pass to you. You are going to be an awesome wife and mother someday. I can't wait to hold your children and tell them about how much fun I had being their mom's daddy.

You're just the best... and you're only gettin' better!
I love you,
Dad