Allie is 3-and-a-half!

Allie turned 3-and-a-half this week! She is our boisterous red head. She is usually at one extreme or the other - very sweet and happy or the exact opposite. This characteristic presents us, as parents, with challenges and often reveals that we really have no idea what we are doing. It is fun to see how God made each of our four kids different from one another, but that also means that what might have worked well in teaching one of our kids might not work at all for another. That just keeps things more exciting. Allie loves most anything: playing house, reading books, singing and dancing, playing games, etc. etc. She is especially thoughtful about praying for others. When she hears of anything that she doesn't think is a good thing (such as a neighbor boy has a fever, or a contestant gets kicked off of American Idol, or a driver in the Indy 500 gets in a crash, or a friend, who is pregnant with twins, is on bedrest for the next 3 months), she quickly says, "we need to pray for them!" and she reminds us at prayer time, and prays for them herself too. No wonder the Lord says, "Let the little children come to Me." What a blessing! Her enthusiasm is contagious. She is such a joy. We thank God for her everyday.