Happy Ninth Birthday to Princess Christina

 Christina turned nine on Monday. Here are the photos of our celebration. I had great difficulty with this birthday, nine is no longer  a little girl, and she is growing up.The good news it that this year, we have finally mastered potty training, and our letters, and numbers,  and new words she has learned come home each day in her backpack. She  is making great strides, but a mother's heart is always torn when she sees a vulnerable child head out towards an unforgiving world, where she is surely going to receive rejection along with her triumphs.
 This is where I need the Blessed Mother to walk along with me, she knows how to watch a child take abuse at the hands of world while she remained sorrowfully silent. And pray. And trust that God is ultimately in charge of her future.
Her day was joyful. She has wonderful, green and white cupcakes, 24 of them accompany her to school. Put together by our friend Irina, they spelled. H-a-p-p-y  B-i-r-t-h-d-a-y  C-h-r-i-s-t-i-n-a one letter apiece.
She received the crown she is wearing, each teacher gave her a birthday card, and each of her bus riders wished her "Happy Birthday" as they entered the bus, thanks to a loving bus driver!
My difficulty in choosing a gift for her was this; in many ways, she is still a Kindergartener, thus I bought her dolls for her Fisher Price Dollhouse, a Daddy and daughter doll, since she is obviously Daddy's girl. Then, Grandpa bought her a CD player so the big girl in her which wants to act like her big sisters with their Ipods, can follow her favorite Disney movie theme songs and Veggie Tale songs downloaded from Itunes.
She is a unique blend of baby and tween, my beautiful nine year old, and is giving her mother's heart a lot of growing pains. But then again, there is no better way to grow than my expanding. My heart is full of gratitude to God for all He has taught me through her.