Even though six does sound so old to me, you are still a little girl. My little girl. You love dolls, dress up, books, coloring, and make believe. You love to perform on stage. We can always planned to be entertained by your love for Frozen songs or any new song you’ve learned recently.

You love your friends and talk about them often. You develop friendships very deeply at such a young age. You still miss Cassidy. Your best friends are your siblings, but you especially love playing with Judd for hours in far away lands. We know that you live in your own little world at times, but its okay because they all know you there.

I am so thankful for you, my sweet daughter. I pray that the things that I am trying to teach you in these early years will stay with you for a lifetime. You amaze us daily with your love for people, your caring heart, and your prayers. The Lord has gifted you with an amazing prayer life at a mire age of 6. I pray that you will never loose the desire to talk and learn from your Savior. He is the only one that can save you. He is ever present and friend at all times.   Mommy and Daddy, can see your mind starting to wrap around the concepts that we have been teaching you since birth. We pray that you choose to embrace them and use them to turn a bad attitude into a thankful one, or a hurtful situation into a reason to pray.

I know the lessons I have learned from you in six years: You have taught to me to enjoy creativity, to not see everything in black and white, that its ok to skip through life worry free sometimes and to appreciate each moment.

You bring me such joy! And that’s why I celebrate you today.

My Jake is  9 years old!  Nine is hard for me.  It’s one birthday away from the double digits and it’s almost a half-way mark of parenting.

I am so happy and proud to say that I am his mommy.

The past nine years have been my favorite.  You were the child that brought your dad and I into parenthood.  You started this whole Perdue Crew off to a great start.  You have become a big brother 4 times and although you have always been magnificent.

When you are feeling like it, you are a great help to your brother and sisters. You are growing into a leader, and I pray that God will continue to mold you into that role as biggest brother.  They all look up to you. Remember that as you make choices.

This year you have continued to excel in school. You played tackle football for the first time and you still choose to read over almost anything, except of course iPod time. I love how you have started sharing a little of your heart with me. You trust me and believe that I am being honest with you when we have “real” conversations. I’m enjoying this new phase of life. Its hard to believe that in 9 more years you will be leaving me. In the next nine years you will change drastically, but I hope that in those nine years our relationship continues to deepen.

Jake, thank you for letting me love you and I pray to God that I love you and your brother and sisters well.  I want you to know that I love you, will fight for you, and will always be here for you. I will always love you and 9 years into being your mommy I’m super proud of you.