Seven

Emily,

Today you are 7 years old!  You have told everyone we've come into contact with for the entire month that it's almost your birthday, well, it's finally here! You woke me up sometime around 5 this morning and said "I'm 7! I feel heavier."  Oh my sweet girl, I wish you would hold onto that innocence.  I know you won't, but I will do my best to make it last as long as possible.

It has been an interesting year.  You finished Kindergarten and started 1st grade.  You've made lots of new friends, you make friends everywhere you go. We went to your first concert to see Jojo Siwa in September and you absolutely loved it.  I will cherish the memories and videos from that night forever.  We also went on our first Disney cruise and went to Disney World twice.

You got a new bike for Christmas and have been trying to learn how to ride without training wheels, but just like when you were learning to walk and every other time you've tried something new, you expect yourself to be perfect the first time out.  It's so frustrating because you are sooo close but you get so upset about not getting it right that you don't even want to try.  I know you'll catch on very soon.

We've discovered that you are a reader this year.  You already have 30 AR points and have started reading on your own.  That's something Eli didn't do until the summer after 1st grade so it shocked me when you started it so soon.

You were a Christmas tree in the 1st grade play and did a great job, you loved having lines and seem to have gotten over your stage fright from Pre-K.  You also started ballet this year and we are all looking forward to your recital in May when you will dance to Little Mermaid. You just started learning your routine this week and when we left you said you were going to practice at home and told us all about the routine we had just watched you practice :)

This year has also been hard, at least the end of it.  Two days after Christmas your friend, Sarah Beth McCullough, died.  I planned to tell you the next morning and we were sitting at breakfast when you said "I'm not gonna see Sarah Beth for a long time."  My heart stopped because I thought you might have overheard Daddy and I talking about it the night before and been through the whole night upset but not saying anything to us. So I asked you why you would say that.  You responded "cause of the flu."  We had been praying for Sarah Beth because we knew that she was at the hospital and had been diagnosed with the flu. I didn't feel like I could wait any longer so I told you that she had died.  It was heartbreaking watching you grieve for her in that moment.  The rest of the day I would find you staring off into space and when I asked if you were okay you would just say that you were thinking about Sarah Beth.  When school started back you came home saying you didn't want to talk about Sarah Beth because it made you scared and sad.  I didn't really know if not talking about it was the right idea but I didn't want to force you to keep talking about it either.  So I brought it up occasionally and reminded you over and over that you could talk to me or your teacher or the counselor at school.  Then came our first night back at ballet since before Christmas, Sarah Beth had been in your ballet class.  On the way to class we talked about Sarah Beth dancing with Jesus and you said you didn't want to talk about her.  Then we went inside and you told two of the girls in your class about Sarah Beth.  I had to pull you aside and tell you not to tell anyone else because I thought the parents should be telling their own kids.  You went into class and the teacher told all of you girls and you each signed a card for Mr. and Mrs. McCullough.  You were pretty quiet when you came out of class and on the way home you asked me if they were going to have a funeral.  When I told you that the funeral had happened when we were at Disney World you told me that we didn't HAVE to go to Disney World.  Then you said you wanted to go visit her spot and take her a note.  By the time we got home you were crying so hard I had to carry you in.  When you finished crying you wrote Sarah Beth the sweetest note and tucked it away in an envelope that you decorated.  On Sunday we drove out to Sarah Beth's spot and tucked your note under a stone there.  You stood looking down at your note and the flowers for around 20-30 minutes in complete silence.  I stood beside you, not knowing what to do except be there with you.  After awhile you took my hand and let me know you were ready to leave, still without talking.  Then you pointed at something in the cemetery.  I don't remember what it was but you wouldn't talk at all, taking me over to see what you were pointing at.  Most of the way back to town you were silent and I was so worried about you and how you were handling it.  But then you started talking and we had a good rest of the day.  I know you'll never forget your sweet friend because you still mention her and have been wanting to watch the video of her funeral but I think you've grieved and that we made the right choices and I hope you always know she's watching over you just like Logan is.

You have your very own sense of style and are so beautiful inside and out!  Never forget that! You say you want to be an art teacher or a doctor when you grow up.  You have a new love for chicken noodle soup and your love of stuffed animals continues.  This year we are going to Launch Trampoline Park in Prattville and you kept changing your mind about who you wanted to invite, so Daddy and I looked at the cost and decided to let you bring Jordyn Lankford and Natalie Hamm from Troy and also invite Lachlan, Holland and Ryland Johnson and Claire Mullins (Lachlan's cousin who you have befriended and his and Holland's birthdays and at the Jojo concert) since they live in Prattville. You're not happy that you have to wait until Sunday for the party but only because you're so excited.

I don't know what this seventh year is going to bring us, we don't have any big plans for the upcoming year but I am looking forward to continuing to watch you grow. I hope this year is the best one yet!

Love,
Mama