Happy Birthday, Sydnee!

Another year, another birthday.  I'm often amazed at how quickly they whizz by.  What is that saying for new mothers?  Something like, the days are long but the years are short?  I never realized just how true that was when I was a young mother with my hands full.  But it is oh-so-felt now.

We got her a passport for her birthday.  What were we thinking?!?!?!  Sometimes I wonder!  I know I am certainly going to miss her while she is gone.  She is planning to go do mission work with friends in Africa.  AFRICA!!!! Oh, my!  I can't even write more about it or I'll just cry.

But this is what we raise them for, right?  To be arrows. To go out and spread the Gospel.  To live for Christ.  Sydnee has such a heart to serve.  She is kind and thoughtful and generous.  She is filled with grace.  But she is not naive.  She has felt great sorrow and pain, has felt the weight of despair, has had terrible things happen to her...yet the Lord has used that to mold her into a tender and compassionate person.  It has not hardened her heart but has made her tender to the needs and plights of others.  She loves the Lord with her whole heart and it shows in her daily living.  The spiritual maturity she has shown through hardship (and joy) brings so much gladness to my heart.

Sydnee is a pretty quiet person.  It takes a lot to get to know her.  Not many people get to, honestly.  She's very reserved but I wouldn't say she's shy.  She's humble and she's definitely not going to fight for attention (which kind of has to happen in this house sometimes).  She forgives easily but trust is difficult for her.  She is a lot of fun and can bring laughter and light-heartedness to any setting, even when her own heart is down.  She often puts her own feelings aside to serve others and she loves to bring others joy.  It's one of the many things we all admire about her.

She gets embarrassed easily, does not like to be the center of attention, and a post like this will drive her crazy.  😜  But that's part of what mothers are for, right?  

We had fun celebrating her birthday.  There's been so much busyness planning the wedding and dealing with life that it was nice to take a small break from it.  

I always love the sibling pictures from birthdays.

Sydnee made her own birthday dessert, which has kind of become a habit amongst most of the older girls. 😂  She also was kind to consider the 3 of us that are sugar-free and made a version for us, as well.

The traditional birthday prayer

I had to include this picture, simply for the background goofiness...

Oh.  My.  Word!  I don't even remember what was going on...

I love the fun times, the silliness, and the camaraderie of these girls together (the boys get in on it, too).  In some ways it saddens me that it will all be different all-too-soon.  But I just have to remind myself of all the good that is coming, too.  Different isn't bad, necessarily.  It's just, well, different.  And we're gaining a son, so that's a joy.  I will definitely miss this special togetherness that we have, but I hope to gain so much more.