Dear Heidi - you're 11!

Dear Heidi,

HAPPY 11TH BIRTHDAY! Hard to believe our two biggest girls are now well into double digits. How the years fly! It makes me more determined than ever to make the most of every minute. Having Annika now, and dressing her in some of your clothes, it feels like those days were yesterday - and yet a lifetime ago. Time is a funny thing.

Heidi - you are fun, and sunshine and joy. You feel big emotions and you fill a room with your energy, your noise (usually singing!) and your excitement about life in general. Honestly, I am so grateful for how the Lord has protected you all these years, and as I finally opened up a bit more with you and Ava last night as you asked question after question about the dark days of May 2013, I was reminded again that your life really is testimony to the protection and goodness of God. How many stories I can tell of how he has manoeuvred circumstances, people (and even entire pharmaceutical production lines!) to protect you. Last night you asked the hard questions - you finally asked about your illness, about what had happened, about what the situation is now... its funny but I knew this day would come and it felt timely to be the night before you turned 11. My prayer is that as you now know the details of what happened, you too will see how much God has done in you and for you over the last decade. He is so faithful!

But now, as you turn 11, while we look back with thankfulness we also look forward as you're growing up! This year, you excitedly told me this week, you will be in four shows! You are playing Matilda at the Junior Theatre Festival in May, Alex the Lion in Madagascar, you'll have your Year 6 leavers production and you'll be part of a production at Christmas as you move up to the Seniors Class at your theatre school. You LOVE the theatre - watching it, singing it, dancing it - performing is one of the big loves of your life.

You also continue to be a history lover and devour historical fiction. You are reading much more for leisure this year and will often disappear up to your new attic room that you share with Ava to read.

This year, you have finally stopped asking me to homeschool you as you have jumped into Year 6 with full enthusiasm. You love your teachers and have a lovely group of friends at school and seem to have finally found your groove at school. This week you got your secondary school placement, and you're so excited to finally join your sister in September. You two are thick as thieves, and I welled up earlier reading the card Ava had written for you... my hope was always that you two would be the best of friends, and you really are. You have your moments and frustrations with each other, but I love seeing the closeness you have. Its the best gift you can give your parents!

And things do go wrong, sometimes... I guess that's inevitable in a large family with 7 of us! But what I really love and appreciate about you Heidi is how quick you are to recognise when you've done wrong and swiftly apologise. You don't hold back from giving a genuine and heartfelt apology - and that's actually pretty rare. I'm grateful for your self-awareness and the way the Lord is working in your heart.

And oh my goodness... there is no birthday gift we could have given you that would have beaten the arrival of your baby sister in your eyes. You are besotted... you cried with joy when you heard I was pregnant and you cried with joy when you heard it was a little girl. And how you have thanked us every day since for Annika! That little girl is so loved, and you love her and care for her so well. Thank you! She is so blessed to have such fabulous big sisters and brothers. 

And so we pray for you today Heidi, that you will continue to grow - in wisdom, in your love of God and in your love for others... we love you so much.

Happy birthday Schnucki!

Mama and Papa - and the rest of our crazy crew!

xxx