THREE!

Patience Isobel has finally arrived at what, to her, is the pinnacle of being a little kid. She turned three yesterday. (She gets to have a quiet time with books instead of a nap every day.) Her milestone was celebrated in many ways, all leading up to a pizza party and lots of gifts to celebrate the beautiful gift God gave to us when he put Patie in our family.

I was reading a Sally Clarkson book yesterday (The Ministry of Motherhood) and in it she asks for you think about how God has specially gifted each of your children and make a list, then think of ways you can inspire them to use those gifts for His glory throughout their lives. I wrote the list down in the book about a year and a half ago, but as I read the list for Patie I could have written it today. Here it is:

"Great endurance, not easily discouraged, very practical, HELPER, always finding solutions, not afraid of failure, not self-conscious, not easily distracted in pursuit of a vision, good with tasks, freedom from fear=very smooth learning, discovering and growing"

Patie Belle, we love you so much and you are such a precious gift to us. God has shown us so much about Himself through you and we know without a doubt He will use you to reveal Himself to this world in countless ways. Happy Birthday.

The cake. We had a puzzle theme (Patie loves puzzles). The puzzle was a picture of Eric Carle's Grouchy Lady Bug, Patie Belle loves LMNO's (M&Ms), and so we went for what she likes. Definitely not my most creative cake, but she really liked it.
Britney Spears has got nothing on us. Soda in a sippy cup. How's that for bad parenting?? I love Lily's excited face in the background.
Waiting to open her presents.
Putting together the new puzzle with Dad.