Birthday Bliss!

Another birthday has come and gone...our youngest is now five. FIVE! Crazy.

As some of you know, it has been a tough time of decision-making and transition with her because of her late Summer/early Fall birthday.

Ever since she was born, the plan was to send her to kindergarten right before her 6th birthday. It didn't seem right to send her to school while she was only 4 years old - that's far too young!

However, as we often learn in life, God's plans are not always the same as our own. Thankfully, this is true because He has way better things in mind for us than we have for ourselves!

Let me explain:

First of all, my plan was to wait until all four kids were all in school before going back to work. God's plan was to bless our family financially through an open door of opportunity in the children's ministry program at our wonderful church - and, of course, He also threw in a bonus blessing for me personally in the friendship, support, and encouragement of fantastic people that would not have otherwise been such a big part of my life. He is also growing me in many ways - too many to count.

However, since my plans were not the same as God's plans, our youngest had to spend time in daycare a few hours each week and we began to make plans for her to attend preschool this Fall.

Again, God had something different in mind as the possibilities for preschools began to fall through - some didn't mesh with my work schedule, others were too expensive, another was no longer available...but the kicker was when our top choice, our favorite preschool option, was suddenly removed from our list altogether. Why? Because of her birthday. It was a grant-funded program through the public schools, and while it was a fantastic program with an even more amazing teacher, those in charge of the funding said that if a child was eligible for kindergarten, they would not be eligible for preschool. Really??

So...what we had thought would be best for our daughter during her entire 4.5 years of existence was suddenly not possible. At all.

We had been praying for direction all along, but the prayers were now becoming more fervent and with a different purpose in mind. God, are we supposed to send our 4-year-old to kindergarten? If not, where on earth should she go to preschool? We SO wanted to do what was best for our daughter, but the answers escaped us. We just didn't know what 'best' really was.

As the prayers continued, we began to realize how much our daughter had grown as a result of being in daycare. Our eyes started opening to how much she had really come out of her shell, how she was maturing and learning and conquering old fears.

And because we knew in our hearts that the best place for a child who is in the midst of great growth is a place where she can have ongoing opportunities to learn, a place where that hunger for discovery can be fed daily, we decided that kindergarten was the best choice for our sweet princess.

And even though she is in a totally different stage of development than any of our other three were when they started school, she is still in a great stage to learn, and she probably has the most potential to learn because of all that she does not yet know.

God knew that what is best for one child is not always what is best for another, and He knew that we needed to see that for ourselves. He left the decision in our hands, and He has been confirming that decision for us during these last 3-4 weeks of school. We could not be more thankful for His faithfulness to stick to His plan even when it is so very different from our own.

All that to say yes, our youngest did turn 5 after she started school, and we are okay with that! Turns out she is not alone - several in her class are also very young and attend kindergarten because they were not eligible for preschool, either. Perfect! Thank you, Lord, for surrounding her with kids in the same stage of life!

So we had a birthday. A 'Rapunzel' birthday. We celebrated, we decorated, we ate, we laughed, we played. It was good...

...and it will continue to be good even when we feel like our kids are growing up FAR too quickly - there are wonderful things for all of us to experience in each and every stage of life, and we are determined to make the most of them. Besides, it's SO much more fun to embrace life right where we are and look for reasons to celebrate God's goodness all around us!

411. Countless reasons to celebrate as five wonderful years are remembered.

412. The anticipation of finding new reasons to celebrate each and every day.

413. Watching a little girl learn and grow and LOVE every minute of it.

414. Confirmation of God's perfect plan for us and our family.

415. Knowing with all confidence that God's plans are far better than my own.

416. Incredibly beautiful fog, though never crossing the road, still neatly tucked into the low places around the highway like a fluffy white blanket.

417. Perfect weather for snuggling under the down comforter at night.

418. Contagious joy from the amazing team of volunteers during the elementary children's services.

419. "I'm counting on God, I'm counting on God"

420. Excitement for a project soon to be completed (and a fabulous partner to work with on it!).