Sshhh! Don't tell! Ava is getting a Hershey's Candy Kiss maker for her 7th birthday today! She's been asking for some sort of "candy maker" or "ice-cream maker" since last Christmas when her friend from church (Zoe) became obsessed with the idea. Of course, Ava waited to form this obsession until AFTER all Christmas presents in my home had been purchased. (I was due to have baby Julianna by scheduled C-section on December 20, and had all Christmas presents purchased, wrapped and sitting under the tree by November 30th last year. Hope I can start pulling that off every year-- that was nice!) But back to today's birthday. Until baby Julianna, AVA was our baby. The arrival of Julianna was a true test for Ava. Last December she kept asking us questions like, "Which do you like better: babies or big kids? Which do you think is prettier: babies or big kids?" To make the transition easier, we started calling Ava "baby #1" and Julianna "baby #2." Seven months later, Ava seems no worse for the wear and, in fact, has grown up a bit. (Sniff.) This spring, she publicly professed Christ and became a baptized believer. She, along with our older kids, now has a daily "quiet time" with her Easy Reader Bible. She has become very zealous about sharing Christ and has even told our two 7 year old neighbors, "You better make Jesus your boss or you'll go to hell." Last week, she accused her cousin Maddie of not being a Christian since Maddie had not been baptized. (My sister's family has not yet decided where they land in the whole paedo-baptism/credo-baptism debate and have elected to hold off on anything until they do know.) Hmm. Now that Ava's zealousness is in place, perhaps we should work on her... tact? (Sheepish grin) At any rate, Ava, you're growing into a beautiful young lady. You don't even LOOK like a baby anymore! Your face has finely chisled features. You like to wear nail polish and read books. You used to say, when asked what you wanted to do when you grew up, that you wanted to be a "hot-dog worker in New York." Now you say that you want to be a mom and maybe a missionary. You are precious. We love you Ava! Happy Birthday. Mom