How can it be?

Journaling for a scrapbook page to be made sometime in the future…

Our daughter Ella turns 8 in less than a week. And what a joy-filled, fast-as-lightning eight years it has been!

This little girl has a strong personality, an infectious giggle and a huge heart.

She loves to draw, write love notes to her dad and me, and give hugs and kisses.

She can’t wait to sit in a car without needing a booster seat.

She wears some of the funkiest outfits, mixing bold colors and wild patterns without any care in the world. Greenish-gray camo pants and multi-colored butterfly sweatshirt? Whatever works.

I love that (generally speaking) she doesn’t care what others think about her style.

She has more style than I have ever had.

She is sassy, sweet and stubborn.

Her favorite color is pink, followed by purple. But pink rules, hands down.

She is having an animal-print birthday party. (Picture zebra cake and balloons.)

She loves animals, especially our cat Jack. (Our other cats, Lucy and Cole, and our dog, Maddie, for some reason haven’t quite captured her heart as much as Jack.)

She chose to have several friends spend the night instead of going somewhere for her birthday. Wise choice, my dear.

I worry a little that she is too bossy around her friends. She likes to be in charge and do what she wants to do. That’s a hard personality trait to soften in an 8-year-old. (Oy.)

She wants to be a big sister.

She has a heart for God. I love that about her.

She asks me hard questions about God on a regular basis. (What does God look like? I don’t understand: If God created everything on earth, who created God?)

She wants to go to heaven some day, just for a visit, to visit family members (and our old dog, Molly) who have died, and to see what God looks like, but then come back to earth and live like normal.

When I was crying recently, she wrote me a note saying simply: “God is always with you. I love you. Love, Ella.”

I’ll keep that one forever, I think.

She loves to organize things, but her bedroom is a complete disaster on a daily basis.

She gets that from me. You should see my office. Oy.

She loves to read. And when she reads out loud, she blows me away with her fluency, voice fluctuation and character personality.

I love to listen to her read.

I get to go into her classroom once a week to help her teacher with literacy stations. She loves it when she gets put into my group for the day. I love it too.

She has yet to read a chapter book from start to finish on her own, I think. She loves to start them, and has dozens in her room, but finishing one eludes her so far. I can’t wait for her to find the joy in finishing a book she starts. I think she’ll enjoy reading even more.

Her favorite TV show is “Good Luck, Charlie.” She occasionally likes to watch her old favorite, “Max and Ruby,” as well. But she worries that none of her other friends like that show, so maybe she shouldn’t either. This is her weakness when it comes to peer pressure. Clothing and personal style is her strength. (Who cares what anyone else thinks?) What she likes to watch on TV is her weakness. (None of my other friends like “Max and Ruby.”)

She loves to dance around the house. Loves to be in shorts and a tank top, even in winter, and dance until her heart is content – with or without music playing.

She’s getting a “real” scrapbook (an expensive one, relatively speaking, that will hold lots and lots of pages) for her birthday, a present she picked out. Makes this momma proud. (Also makes me want to get back into scrapbooking, my long-lost hobby!)

She’s waiting in bed for me to come and tuck her in. It’s time to go read with her from One-Minute Devotions for Girls, a book she picked out and that she loves to read each night. Time for my goodnight chat with my girl, sure to be full of questions. Time for my goodnight hug. Sounds like a good reason to sign off. Good night.