The Redhead Review: The Katherine Post

At the beginng of April, Katherine turned 8 years old. Eight years. Doesn't seem like that long, but then I look at this child, no traces of baby, or toddler or even small-child left and marvel at the changes eight years can bring about.

Mary Katherine Grace Zeerip. She is in her 3rd year of school, reading, and writing, learning about the Revolutionary War, and about to learn the metric system. She knows the ten commandments by heart. Her daily chores are making her bed and cleaning her room, making my bed, vacuuming a room, and picking up toys. She reads her King James Bible every day, too. On Monday she sorts the laundry and on Tuesday she and Jacob put the clean folded piles away. She can make scrambled eggs and mac and cheese all on her own. She has cross-stitched her name on a pillow case. She now does her own hair most days....IT IS OFFICIAL: THERE IS A LITTLE LADY IN THE HOUSE.

The other day Bo was watching her out on our front lawn. She was outfitted in a dress and hat, with a little metal pail in hand. The pail contained a couple of books, some pencils and paper and who-knows-what-else. She started by the little stream, crouching to touch the water, then sprinted for our little hill, put her pail down and log rolled down. The whole time she was lost in some prairie land, one-room-school-house world. She talked to the imaginary players, shouting into the air for them to keep up. Bo sighed and commented to me that the days were numbered. It is true. Should she enter in to this sort of play -should we be so lucky- when she is 13, we still have less than 2000 days of watching this. I pray to God that we would, as Ann Voskamp says, slow the river of time, by giving thanks right here, in this moment, being all here.

Reasons to thank God in Katherine's life:

- She has trusted Jesus for her salvation
- She capably does her assigned work
- Possession of a quick, intelligent mind
- Katherine likes cooking with me
- She snuggles with her Daddy
- MKG has a unique sense of fashion
- She can carry a tune
- High hopes and big dreams fill her heart
- She and Jacob build together: forts, boats, houses, blocks, friendship.
- She is learning self-control (Jane is the grain of sand that will produce a pearl in her life someday)
- She can entertain herself when she wakes up insanely early in the morning
- Bold adventure attracts her
- A tender conscience
- Katherine ia young lady with a desire to honor God

Of course there are more reasons, but now to pictures:

Some of the first flowers of 2011.

Needing to work a little on stance, but she does like her pink BB gun. My grandparents bought me my first gun, and now they have bought Katherine hers. Thanks Grandma Boehler!

Kitchen cooking.

Grandma Joan is teaching Katherine french knots for her cross-stitching.

For Katherine's birthday, she had all her little heart desired. She had her immediate family, both sets of grandparents, great-grandparents and two cousins in attendance. For lunch Punkin and G-pa treated to her favorite restaurant: Chinese!