You are full of everything you have. You aren’t a little of anything. Whatever it is you are doing, at any given moment, you are VERY doing it. Be it: singing, dancing, playing, yelling, running, laughing, crying, caring for others, combing hair, painting faces, eating food, going poop, etc.. There is nothing you don't give your everything to.
Like your brother, Finneas, God has given you the privilege and the responsibility of possessing an eleven. This means that you can take any party to the next level and that you always have a cherry to place on top of the awesome. The first rule of having an eleven, however, is realizing that NOT.EVERYTHING.IS.AN.ELEVEN. A sense of proportion is an eleven’s best friend. In other words, not everything is improved by putting a cherry on top it.
Your eleven allows you to give your everything to your anything. God surely had you in mind when He inspired Solomon to write, "Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might." (Ecc. 9:10) I imagine you someday underlining this verse in your Bible and writing, "DONE!" in all CAPS next to it in the margin thinking to yourself, “Well, that was easy!” Going all out has always come quite naturally to you. Knowing when not to has always required instruction.
Speaking of going all out, your eyes are big. Like giant squid big. Like Japanese cartoon character big. Baby owls see you and be like, "Hey, girl! Them some big eyes!" If it weren’t for Ophelia, you have the blue ribbon all wrapped up, but she may give you a run for your money.
But as big as your eyes are, your personality is somehow even bigger. You are like a little stick of dynamite. You pack a lot of punch into a tiny parcel. I love it! One of my favorite Callista moments punctuates this point. The story goes you punched your fist into your hand in an effort to intimidate your big brother, Atticus, years back to show that you weren't messing around. That, in a microcosm, tells your whole story. You are a fantastic character and I'm glad God wrote you into our story. You can turn any anecdote into a page turner.
You are very sweet and attentive to others who are sad or in pain. You like to care for people and enjoy the opportunity to tend to others. You like combing mom's hair or pretending to do people's nails. You like to hover over Ophelia and entertain her when she is getting fussy.
You like to cuddle and often fight Juni for the privilege of sitting on my lap. You like to dance downstairs when we're playing music and you like to go on walks... until you're out walking... and then you DO NOT LIKE WALKING. :)
You are a good eater. Next to Atticus, you eat more than any other kid. You regularly get seconds and sometimes even thirds on dinner. Those eye balls, I suppose, require lots of fuel to keep going. I hear they’re threatening to invade of Poland. But then again, who hasn’t at this point?
You call Ukuleles "chu-le-les" and I have like zero motivation to correct you. It's the cutest. Never stop chu-le-leing, sister friend. NEVER!
Sunday mornings are your favorite. You look forward to singing Psalm 134, "Behold, bless the Lord..." and ask nearly every night if tomorrow is "Behold, bless the Lord" day. This means you are VERY happy one morning out of every seven and VERY disappointed six evenings a week. :)
Speaking of sleep... what's that? Whatever it is, you don't like it... accept for when you're sleeping, that is. You sleep hard… once you get there. Until then, you work hard… to avoid it. You are working on being more cheerful when going to nap, but the struggle is real. You miss your siblings and don't want to spend your afternoons alone in bed. At night you are often up late chatting and keeping your sisters awake and in the morning, once you're awake, you're ready to rock n' roll. You like to come out to the table where I'm reading my Bible before work in the morning and draw or color quietly. I like spending that time with you.
As bold as you are about most things, you are as unbold about aches and pains. You apply your eleven to the theater of the injury rather than to the bearing up under it. For example, you got a bee sting in your hand the other day and limped all the way to couch to have the stinger pulled out. You got a blister on your big toe and acted like you needed crutches.
You are a blast, Lissy Lou. What would we do without you? Sure, we'd save a ton of money on band-aids, but what’s a few bandaids compared to you? I'd rather be out a box of band-aids than to be without you.
I like playing Go Fish with you. You are so cute when you get a match. You squint and giggle to yourself and cover your mouth with your hands as you struggle to contain your joy. It makes losing to you one of my favorite things.
Ending where we began, you are VERY Lissa Lou. You are a distinct character. What you are, you REALLY are and I love everything about you. God has been kind to us in giving us the chance to share these days with you. You are the kind of character in the story that everyone looks forward to hearing about. You are always about to do or say something awesome.
It is fun watching you grow up and getting to know you more and more as God grows you into a young lady. You are beautiful, funny, smart, and sassy. I often pray for God uses me to help corral your charisma without squashing it or letting it run wild. You have a lot of chutzpah and I don't want any of it to go to waste. Your personality is too big to be squandered on selfish pursuits. I see you growing through instruction and training and I catch glimpses every once in a while of the woman you will one day be.
All that to say, I love you, Lissa Lou. Always have. Always will. No matter what. Forever and ever. Amen.
Love,
Dad
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