Double Digits

It's absolutely impossible.

How do I have a daughter who just turned TEN?

Our sweet baby Kendyll is now an amazingly beautiful (inside and out) 10 year old, and we have all enjoyed celebrating her entrance into double digits this week!

This pic was actually a self-portrait she took on her birthday, which she probably never thought I would use...but it was so cute, I had to use it. I think her freckles are the most beautiful thing, especially with those Daddy-shaped eyes shining through them.

Kendyll's celebrations actually began with a party she shared with her cousins and baby sister, as we do every year for the February birthdays. This year, we even included Braden in the fun as a late party for his December day. :)

I LOVE cousin LOVE.

It was a fun day full of LEGOS!! Legoland and cheeseburgers and a day of cousin fun helped Avery turn 4, Abby Kate turn 5, Braden turn 6, and Kendyll turn 10! Oh, and scoops of Blue Bell ice cream with candles in the top. :)

And, as always, we sent a little love up to Baby Chase. It never gets old to see the cousins sharing their "I LOVE YOU CHASE" shouts. :)

As soon as Legoland was done, Kendyll's sweet friends met her at the mall for the BIG...I mean BIG event.

The day Kendyll had been waiting for was finally here, after years of anticipating it.

So, the whole party centered around it.

Ear piercing was the event, and accessories were the party favors. There was some major shopping deliberation done over these decisions.

Emma and Kayla study the walls of Claire's...

While Daddy and Kendyll study the case of earring choices...

It was so cute to watch all the girls choose accessories that were so "them"!

Her friends were all "old pros" at the ear-piercing thing, so they gave Kendyll lots of pep talks and helped her through the trauma.

Except when it got too hard to look. Then, they turned their heads, or took off for the back of the store. :)

But, then Daddy stepped in with his comforting kisses, which the birthday girl obviously loved.

And, then it was DONE!!

Our girl looks so old with earrings!!

I was proud of her for waiting patiently for something she's wanted for so long. I know she was ready for this "rite of passage", and she has been so thankful for it.

After mall time, we headed to get pizza at our new FAVORITE place, Pie Five! If you have one near you, you have to try it! You build your own individual pizza and it's SO yummy! It was Kendyll's choice for her bday dinner.

After dinner, we had another amazing treat, made with love by the talented cake-baker, Grandma, herself! I mean, seriously, her cakes are AMAZING. And, she incorporated every detail Kendyll wanted. It was the most adorable cake and was EXACTLY what Kendyll was hoping for!

Lots of candles to blow out this year!

And, lots of wishes made.

Let's just say that her wish this year--which she accidentally shared out loud---was for a certain someone to come HOME soon and join our family!! Okay, it was two someones. Our prayers for our little one(s) never stop, and neither do the birthday wishes. Someday.

Her "wish" inspired some time looking at videos of our trip to Rwanda, at all the precious ones they loved on last summer. She sure loves sharing their faces and their stories with her friends...or with anyone who will listen, really! :)

I LOVE all of these girls so much.

These are Kendyll's lifelong friends--literally--and we have pics of each of them as tiny babies with Kendyll! Their friendships are so sweet, and I kept getting teary all night watching them together. They really have something special, and it's built on such a beautiful foundation. I know they'll have years of supporting and loving each other, and it makes my heart so happy!

Then, after stuffing our faces some more, it was time to get busy! Kendyll had decided on a "dance party" sleepover, and decorated for her friends before they arrived, complete with fishnet gloves and glo sticks.

She made a whole CD of her favorite dance songs, which I'm very proud to say had NO Justin Bieber. We definitely don't have Bieber fever at our house. Britt Nicole, Jamie Grace, Francesca Battistelli, and Natalie Grant are Kendyll's top favorites and the songs she chose for THE dance was a tie between God Girl by Jamie Grace and Glow by Britt Nicole. So, they did a little of both.

{Can I just enter this little opinion here? There are GREAT Christian artists out there for young girls, who are amazing role models and who choose to speak out in a world where they could easily go a different direction and maybe even get greater recognition for it. Great dance songs with great messages that I love my girls taking in. Okay, that's all. Back to the party blog.}

Well, I thought I was back to the party blog. Kendyll just read this, and decided to share the lyrics of God Girl for everyone to enjoy. So, here they are! (pause my music at the bottom first!)

So, after a couple of hours of choreography, they were ready to perform.

They did GREAT! They videoed themselves while we served as an enthusiastic audience. Here they are reviewing the video. They were SO CUTE watching themselves!

By now, it was almost 11. And, the night was still young. So, it was movie time! And, then they STILL stayed up chatting and laughing after that! Needless to say, I took some tired girls home the next day, and I told them ALL to be sweet and kind to their mommies so I didn't get in trouble for keeping them up! :)

I know they were tired, because our girl DROPPED as soon as the last girl was dropped off!

I really don't think I've ever enjoyed Kendyll's birthday party more. Not only are they at such a fun age (and easy age too!), but it's in these ages that we see their true spirit coming thru, and many times throughout her celebration with friends, Mark and I looked at each other and smiled, as we thanked God for who He is making these girls to be.

Her friends are always so sweet about little Chase too, and wanted to send the balloons his way before they left. I am so thankful for such sweet ways he is always remembered by SO many who love him!

And, the fun still doesn't stop! She also got a special birthday lunch with Grandma a few days later, at a fancy restaurant, where she got her very special locket, a keepsake tradition being passed on from generation to generation.

And, on her actual birthday, one week later, we were at ACU Sing Song, Kendyll's favorite!! She got to go shopping in the school store, and got to spend the night screaming for Aunt Cailee and the Siggies!

Check out those Sing Song faces!

We love you, Kendyll Grace, and are SO honored to be your parents. We watch with great anticipation to see what God is doing in your life and through your big, compassionate, enthusiastic heart. We pray, as always, that your life "will be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God"! Happy Double Digits!!