A Birthday

Above: (I have not been able to get blogger to upload my photos in the proper sequence this morning. Sorry.) Cherub 5 with her best friend, Priscilla, skiing at Gatlinburg last January. Priscilla is now away at college, and a day never passes without Cherub 5 praying for Pris. And we are so blessed that this young lady has been such a wonderful friend to our Cherub 5.

Saturday was Cherub 5's 9th birthday !!

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It hardly seems possible that she is 9yo already !!

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For her birthday, she asked to get her ears pierced. She chose purple stones, of course !

The purple streaks in her hair are left over from soccer season (the temporary color was not as "temporary" as we had hoped.) She insists that these purple streaks make her run faster, and we assume she is right because it is rare when another player can catch her as she takes the ball down the field to score. Here (below) is a photo of Cherub 5 (in her lucky pink skort), doing what she loves most .... playing soccer. She is quite the frontline player, scoring many goals in almost every game.

Here is Cherub 5 (yellow shirt) in 2006, wading in Lake Oconee in Georgia, while visiting Dumma & GranMickey at their lake house. Second only to soccer, swimming is Cherub 5's favorite thing to do. She wants to live in a warm climate someday, where she can swim year round. Cherub 5 has been swimming well since before she was 2yo, and hopes to swim on the local swim team next year. But then in this warm climate, she will also have to travel to cooler places so that she can enjoy her third favorite thing to do --- skiing !! She loves to ski, and zips down the slopes with ease, and is often heard shrieking with joy as she goes by.

Above: Cherub 5's Christmas 2007 photo. See how the dress has glitter all over it ? All things glittery and shimmery are WONDERFUL to Cherub 5. Glitter, sequins, flash and dazzle -- that's our Cherub 5 !!

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Below: Here is Cherub 5 with her big sister, Cherub 2, in their 2006 Christmas photo.

I remember being pregnant with Cherub 5, and it was during those long monthes that Cherub 2 prayed every single day that God would bless her with a sister. Cherub 2 wanted to name her baby sister Flower, and had a lot of grand plans for their future together.

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Well, God did give Cherub 2 that baby sister that she prayed for. It is funny though -- Cherub 2 has always been so gentle and loving and lady-like .... and Cherub 5 has been a spitfire since the day she was born, always bold and living life to the fullest, as fast as she can. They are polar opposites, and yet are extrememly devoted to one another in this household of mostly boys.
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These days, Cherub 5 is becoming a bit gentler, a bit more compassionate, and a tiny bit more refined. But she is still a spitfire, and is by far the boldest member of our family. Everything she touches and everything she does is filled to the brim with the spirit of this little POWERHOUSE in blond curls that looks, truly, like a Cherub.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHERUB 5 !!