s I see it, this is kind of like the last year of my little Molly.  She isn’t too small anymore, and next year she’ll add the teen to her name.  She’s always been bigger than her age, of course, learning things faster and doing more than other kids in her group.  My Molly is bright, all right.  Now she’s at the end of that little kid stuff.

12 years ago, she joined our brand-new family and we were ecstatic.  Molly was like an extra dose of glue that brought her Mama and me closer together than we already were.  Molly joined us at the hip in watching her, helping her, growing her, teaching her and loving her.

I’m proud of my first girl. She’s reading books better than I did when I was a kid, that’s for sure.  12th grade level reader, I’m told!  I can’t even begin to imagine the things she’ll be doing when she hits 12th grade.  Molly’s our genius.  Even when the genius is more like a mad-scientist, she’s incredibly smart.

Molly, I want to tell the world how glad I am to be your dad.  You drive me nuts and confuse me beyond reason, but behind all that, I see why.  You’re smart, too smart to be stuck in that little body of yours.  So take it from your dad, use all this time as a kid to store up the brains and skills and love and all that other stuff around you.  Soak it up.  You’re on your way up, now, and not too long from now you’ll be off on your own road, responsible for you.

Don’t mind the clumsy, the too-bigness of you.  All that stuff will go away one day and you’ll fit your britches.  You’ll find that just being a human can work, no matter how messed up things seem right now.  Don’t mind that your brains get in the way of your tongue (just don’t switch and let your tongue get away without the brains).  You keep doing your best.  You keep working at growing up.  I know it’s tough being the oldest kid.  You get treated like an adult more than you’d like, and at the same time, you’re still stuck being a kid.  That’s a pain, and I’ve been there.  But you’re getting some experience that none of the others will quite get like you.

I know that the Lord is standing by for you, and one day soon, I think He’s gonna call you out for your mission.  I don’t know what it is, but I’m absolutely sure of what it isn’t.  It won’t be boring.  Maybe you’ll be a wife and mommy.  Maybe you’ll be a teacher (I can envision you doing that).  What you’re gonna do? I don’t know for sure.  It’s coming, now that you’re at the edge of growing up.  You just make sure you’re ready as can be.

And I’m not talking about doubling up your study time or your exercises (though those are always good things to do).  I’m talking about working into your life with your Master.  God made you for a reason, and He’s watching and talking to you.  Make sure you’re chasing after Him every day in everything you do.  Pray pray pray!  Read about Him, think about Him and live like Him!  These things will make you ready to go to work at the only real mission that counts in anybody’s life.

Serving Him!  You’ll make a stellar lady one day, of that I’m sure.  A good and faithful servant, a loving wife (like a loving sister, only even cooler), those are what you can be.  And don’t worry about the scary stuff, either.  We all get that junk too often, and many people just don’t handle it very well.  You make sure you’re up to the challenge by putting your trust in your Master (and not in you).  Doing that will keep the messups at a minimum and help you through the troubles.

Just like your growing pains today, all the hard stuff goes away too.  You just have to work your way through it.  You’ve made it to 12 years now!  You have a ton more to go and I can’t wait to see where you go with it!  You’re gonna do great things one day, Pretty Girl.  Thank you for being the Big Sister right now.  Thank you for helping with all the little stuff.  Keep growing, my favorite Rat!

I thank my Lord for you, Molly .  I don’t always do a good job of it, but I think of you and am filled with joy to know you are my big girl.  I’m not too keen on you always staying little.  I want to see you grown up.  I think Bunky can stay little, but you’re already so close that it would be a terrible waste to keep you short.

I love you, My Molly Rat!  You make me proud.  Just like Sisters are cool, Daughters are cool too, and you make a fine example of a first daughter.

Happy Birthday!  Fa-FEEEEEE!

It has come round again.  SISTER DAY is here.

NEW ITEMS!!! I’ve added a special movie.  Tried to do a SISTER DAY post on PaperScreams, but couldn’t put up the movie part, so it’s here: Click : I LOVE MY FIVE (or right-click and save-as since it’s usually easier)

OH, and one more for MOLLY!  She knows this one.  This is OUR song from IguanaLand!:  Wonderful!

There are a ton of holidays in the world, ones for Moms and Dads and Veterans and Secretaries and Births and Weddings and just about anything else you can imagine.  SISTER DAY never made it to the official list of important days.  At least not until Molly, Roen, Gwendollyn and Joscelin came around. Now we have SISTER DAY.

It’s truly one of the very best days in the world.  This is one that is just about family.  It’s not for presents or for hard work or for anything other than celebration of the incredible importance of being a sister. Having younger sisters means Molly gets TONS of practice for when she grows up and becomes a Mommy.  Being biggest is pretty hard to manage sometimes, with all the hard stuff that you could really use an older sister to help you figure things out. Having an older sister means that Roen is able to ask for help with that impossible question in the homework.  That’s the good stuff.  When you can’t make it work on your own, there is always a sister around.  Even little bitty Joscelin helps out sometimes. Being in the middle is tough, of course, as any Roen or Gwendollyn will tell you, since you have to be big and are stuck being little at the same time. You don’t always like the same games that big kids do, and coloring all day long isn’t quite as fun as playing the GameBoy.  But usually there’s a little sister right there to watch you play the games, and that’s the special time you can share big kid stuff. I’m proud of you girls.  You have really turned out SMART and big and beautiful, and though I love birthdays (silly hats and really big dinners), I love Sister Day the most.  SISTER DAY celebrates ALL FOUR OF YOU, all together, the best collection of kids any Daddy could ever hope for. I love your short hair.

I love your long hair.

I love your crazy faces

I love your wonderful colors.

I love how you monkey around (specially when I’m around).

I love your Choky Milk A Cup (can I have some please).

And none of these things would be half as wonderful and fun if you weren’t all together doing all these things.  Everybody knows Popy Tail.  Everybody knows FaFee! Everybody loves Choky Milk.  Everybody loves the Double Stevie Wonder Elvis Bobble Head^(r). All of you, talking and playing at once makes my heart warm and happy. So I’m glad you’re celebrating SISTER DAY, even if I can’t be there.  I’ll make it for the one next year, but don’t you forget how important this holiday is.  Each of you is most wonderful to me and Mama.  All together, you are a hundred times wonderful (infinity plus one!). One is fun, Four is MORE! Friends can be forever, but you’re not guaranteed on that.  Gameboys don’t stick around forever either.  Favorite teachers are traded for new ones all the time.  Clothes and toys and even pets wear out.  But sisters are for LIFE!  You don’t lose ‘em and you can always come back to them even if you move around the world. I love you all!  Will see you soon!  I’m celebrating right here for you.  I’m praising the Lord for His wonderful gift to me and your Mama.  Happy SISTER DAY.