nine

today my baby girl, mandy, turns 9 years old.


9 is such a great age.
 at 9 you still get excited about popsicles and going to the library and water painting and picking your own clothes out for the day. your old enough to pack your school lunch and a backpack for a day at the pool but not too old to sit on momma's lap and cuddle.


today in the van, mandy informed me of the hierarchy of "jobs" in her 2nd grade class. i had no idea that "pet care" (caring for tom and jerry, the class turtles) is the job to have. or that "clean up crew" was a rather disappointing assignment. who knew caring for turtles was to be coveted? that's my daughter's world these days.


so many thoughts go through your head on your kid's birthday. mandy was hands down our easiest baby and toddler. she entered into a household full of life and activity before she even spent her first night there. she has been overly mothered by her big sisters and mercilessly antagonized by her brother. (he used to autograph his name in pen on baby dolls' foreheads).


mandy has also been hands down our kiddo who has required our most energy and focus up to this point. one of my favorite stories of mandy occurred when she was 3. j had just bought a brand new digital camera to take on a trip to myanmar. mandy and i were the only ones at home one day and, as i was in our back bedroom, i could hear something popping in the kitchen. as i walked in the room, i saw smoke and flames coming out of the microwave. it was the new digital camera. i was speechless. i did my best to explain to her that we don't put stuff in the microwave and turn it on (she had seen us do that a thousand times so why couldn't she do it?) she had a bit of a learning curve as she did the same thing with our checkbook a few weeks later.


mandy is a unique mixture. she is always on the move, rarely the quiet one in a group of kids, and still hasn't grasped the concept of personal space. mandy has an incredible work ethic and is the first one to volunteer for a job. she would gladly give you the shoes off her feet if you needed them but views rules more as suggestions than absolutes. her height is that of someone grades beyond her and she's passionate about basketball. she is creative and musical and not afraid to be on a stage.


one of the best things about mandy is that she has been one of my greatest teachers. when it was time for mandy to enter kindergarten, we watched our carefree wildflower become a child consumed with fear, anxiety, angry outbursts, and ocd tendencies. as parents we did all we knew to do - pray, seek counsel, get counsel for her, change her diet, change her school, change her schedule, change our parenting style. we struggled, we cried, we fought, we prayed and, at moments, came to the end of ourselves.


i have a dear friend who is the parent of adult kids. she tells me if i want parenting advice just go to a first-time parent of a 2-year-old. they know it all. i chuckle at that because i was that parent so quick to give advice to others. in the beginning, i really believed there was a formula to follow - just read all of the dobson books and pay the price that good parenting requires. my children are teaching me that it is so much more about God writing His story in their lives than my stellar parenting strategies.


this year mandy was tested due to reading difficulties. i knew she was falling behind. i knew it was hard for her. and it was hard for me at our case conference to hear the words "she qualifies for special education services". that wasn't part of the story that i wanted written for my daughter's life. once again, i am reminded that it is not my story but His.
i have seen my daughter shine this year at school. so many puzzle pieces have fallen into place in understanding how she processes things. that's why she is one of my best teachers - she is teaching me not to judge by a season but rather by the journey.


truth is, sometimes i think my ego gets wrapped up in how "well" my children are doing. i don't know how many "latest/greatest" conversations i've got pulled into with other moms - like somehow we'll get extra points at the end of the day for spending our saturdays at our kids' 3 soccer games, 1 piano recital, 2 birthday parties, and their advance placement test for middle school physics. don't get me wrong, i'm proud of my kids. (one of them scored a goal at their soccer game last night and i felt like doing the moonwalk right there on the sidelines!) i want to be the best God-honoring momma i can be. i just need to get to the point where i realize that they're on loan to me for a while and see them fully as trophies of His grace.


so, happy birthday, my sweet mandy girl. let's see what God is up to this year.