Five Years Ago, She Changed Our Lives....

Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6

Where does time go? Seriously, it just flies by in the wink of an eye, or so it seems. Five years ago, Riley decided that she'd rather be born in January instead of her projected February due date, and surprised us all. One day it was work as usual, the next day it was a trip to the hospital at 3:30 in the morning. What a wild day that was.

I'd love to say that Riley has had the best birthday ever, but the Influenza A bug hit her last night, so after her routine 5 year old check-up + diagnosis of her flu, she's been home resting and trying to feel better. I'm so glad she's been able to get rest, and will continue to do so for the next few days.

Today's post is all about our Bug. She's got a huge heart, full of joy and a huge love for God. I find that incredible at her age, and enjoy talking to her daily and just soaking in her simple logic of Christ's love and her firm belief that everything we have is from up above. Without God, we wouldn't have anything, and it's wild to me that she is already picking up on that.

She also has a lot to teach Jesse and I, starting with patience. Along with her huge heart, she's also got an incredible amount of spunk. She is an incredibly independent and strong-willed little one, and that is a big challenge to us as parents. While it's a challenge, we enjoy seeing her grow and learn, and can't wait to see what the future holds for her.

In case you're wondering where her spunk comes from... The first photo above is myself as a child, compared to Riley...

Along with her spunk, comes a matter-of-factness that I just get a giggle from (most of the time, haha). Even as she's feeling puny at the doctor's office today, she was answering the nurse and doctor's questions with matter-of-fact statements, what was bothering her, how she felt, and was a trooper through it all. The flu and covid testing was the roughest part, and I don't fault her for that. No one enjoys getting things stuck in their nose, but the nurse was so sweet with her, that it helped.

Just had to end this post with a snowball fight from the weekend! Her spunk was strong for that one!