Emery Kayt~Six for Six

While I am still dealing with the fact that Emery Kayt officially has to use two hands to show her age, I do love having a big girl. My facebook this week has transported me back to day old Emery, one year old Emery...and as much as I wish she could have stayed little forever, I seem to fall for her more and more as the years go on. Doug and I cannot believe our baby girl is S I X. 

So for this sixth birthday we wanted to remember six special things about you, Emery Kayt. 

#1. I was reminded this past week of how appreciative Em is. As a family, we have been blessed with good health, a good home, good friends, a loving family. We get to go and do a lot of neat things that I know not everyone gets to experience. I am so grateful for this life and being grateful has always been something I wanted to instill in my children.  I never want it to go unnoticed by any of my kids that we have it so good. But Emery seems to be inherently appreciative. A big thank you hug is her first instinct anytime she is given anything--a gift, a compliment, an experience.  She just seems to have been born with a grateful heart and I pray that this characteristic is noticed and shared with others (and that it forever rubs off on me). I pray that she forever finds words of thanks on her lips even when things are not going good and she doesn't have it all. 

#2. To go along with her grateful heart, I love Emery's contentment. Em has always been happy-go-lucky, but I realized recently that I think her happiness comes from contentment. She sees the beauty in the everyday, she is open minded and accepting, she is always optimistic, she seems to live right in the moment.  She is content in whatever we are doing--not a thing or all the things. She is content in whatever she is given--when she is given the short stick in life she shrugs her shoulders and nods in understanding. There can be a fine line between contentment and lack of ambition. I pray for Em to strive to achieve her goals, while at the same time continuing to be content and happy with what she does achieve. Doug and I cannot pat ourselves on the back for this trait. The girl was born this way. 

#3. While Emery probably wouldn't qualify as a true tomboy, she isn't exactly a girly-girl either, and I love that. She would prefer to go with her hair uncombed, dirt under her fingernails, barefoot and in the same play clothes she has worn for the past three days. She likes to catch frogs and lightning bugs, make mud pies and not take showers. When I do make her wear a dress or heaven forbid comb her hair, she wants to know why she has to look so fancy. To this I just have to laugh. I was brought up that you get up and get ready everyday. You put on your makeup even when you have no where to go. And while that way of life is perfectly fine, I love her free-spirit and her priorities. At the end of those hot summer days, when I can finally get her to come in, I have found myself telling her that she looks like a wild child--and I hope she realizes that this is in no way a derogatory term. I am jealous of her free-spirit. I am jealous of her lack of self-consciousness. I hope she is always my girl that begs for matching mommy-mini toenail polish but prefers her hair blowing in the breeze. 

#4. From her very first one (probably due to a silly face from her Daddy), Emery Kayt has always had the. best. laugh. Actually it is more of a whole body, comes from her belly, makes you laugh, cackle. It is genuine and unrestrained and infectious. What is fun is that her humor is the same way. While she may be our quietest child, some of the quick-witted stuff she says leaves us laughing the most. Her humor is newfound and we absolutely love it. Her laugh is music to our ears and makes everything better (Bennett Lee has the same one) and it is just something that makes her special. 

#5. Emery is slow. Emery is messy. Emery can be just a bit sassy and very independent. While those characteristics sound negative, I came to the realization last summer (when my patience was running thin and I knew I needed an attitude adjustment) that it is actually a blessing and totally planned by God that Em is not just like me (well....she says her sassiness and independence is in fact from me). I am a go-go-go getter. I can do a thousand things at once. I used to pat myself on the back because of these attributes. But Emery has taught me that going slow lends itself to an intentional, more enjoyable way of life. I am organized. Ask me where anything is. I hate clutter to a fault. Emery Kayt is none of these. She is a keeper of everything and a loser of everything. You should see her bed and the amount of craziness she sleeps with. And don't get me started with her cubby at school or her book bag of a thousand things that I deem as trash and truly believes are treasures. Her priorities are so much different than mine and it is something I have had to accept and will have to remember to appreciate.  I would like to do everything for her...but Miss Em has turned into Miss Independent. I pray that all of these differences from me serve her well in life. I know they have already served me. 

#6. When I was brainstorming this list, I asked Doug what his favorite thing about Em was. He sighed...a sigh saying "How could I ever pick." After a moment of silence, his answer was her big heart. He stated that he loves that she cares for others before herself (again purely a God given trait and not by our works.) What is funny is that I had that exact sentence already typed out. She makes sure that Auggie and Bennett's needs are met before her own. She makes sure all friends feel included. She is just fine with being in the back of the line. She is a worrier but really only when it comes to worrying about someone else (which reminds me of my Grandma). At night she prays that others are safe and that they dream about good things (because that is something she worries about) and she is our little mother hen, cheerleader for everyone in life.  I pray that God uses her heart for others. That she can be an instrument of His great love for all. 

When I asked Emery what she loved most about herself her answer was sweet and really not surprising. She said and I quote, "That I have love in my heart, I guess. I love people and I love that I have a heart right here under my neck (as she held her chest) and it makes me feel really good."

What a big girl answer! Emery Kayt we love you and we hope you know that. We love the little lady you have become and cannot wait to see what fun things this next year has in store.

Happy 6th Birthday.