Jovie is SIX

To the sweetest buttercup in all the land,

I’m currently writing this on our way to the airport to fly to Orlando to celebrate you! How on earth are you SIX? These years have been the best and fastest years of my whole life. And while they have flown by, I look back and visualize a million special memories and snapshots of your incredible life. You are far more captivating then any of my words could sufficiently describe. Your zest for life, your sharp wit, your wild intelligence, and your ability to know every single word in all of your favorite songs blow me away every single day. And everyone around you feels the same way. We literally fight over you because we can’t get enough. So while we are headed to DisneyWorld to experience Disney magic, I get to have your magical spirit every single day. And somehow, everyday is even better then the one before. My heart pitter patters with love for you.

This year has been another one for the record books…with our family having more fun daily then we’ve ever had before. You completed preschool (again) and are getting ready to tackle kindergarten in a few short weeks!!! You can certainly already write sentences and I’m relatively certain you can read, but I’m so excited to see you take off! You love all of your friends and your teachers, and especially your boyfriends Danny and Andrew. Your bestie is Malia and you try to play every single waking moment. You also love your gymnastics and soccer buddies. You’re preparing to compete level 2 for the very first time this season and I’m sure you’ll blow away the competition. You are our very own boss baby. You’re a natural born leader, yet your heart is tender and loving towards Jesus and all of his people. You love deeply and unconditionally (although you pretend to withhold love in order to get something from the Neshems or money from Timmy).

I absolutely LOVE watching you experience the world. Everything is exciting to you. Everything is an adventure. You sing at the top of your lungs, dance whenever there is music, make friends everywhere you go, and somehow manage to turn the most ordinary moments into memories. Your face tells every single emotion you are feeling and your giant smile can light up an entire room. You are completely incapable of hiding your joy…and I hope that never changes.

You adore your big kids and they absolutely adore you. Somehow after six years, you still have all of us competing for your attention and trying desperately to be your favorite. And you know EXACTLY how to use that to your advantage! 😂 You have been the center of Zack and Hallie’s world since the moment you were born and watching the three of you love each other is one of the greatest joys of my entire life. They protect you, spoil you, entertain you, and occasionally torture you…and you give it right back. You are so incredibly lucky to have them, but I hope someday you realize how incredibly lucky they are to have YOU.

Six feels big to me. Maybe because kindergarten is coming and I know that another chapter is about to begin. The tiny baby who followed her big kids everywhere is suddenly becoming one of the big kids herself. You have your own friends, your own sports, your own ideas, your own opinions (SO MANY opinions), and your own gigantic dreams. Part of me wants to freeze you exactly as you are right now. I want to remember your little six-year-old voice. I want to remember the songs you sing, the things that make you laugh, your tiny gymnastics body flying through the air, your ridiculous jokes, your snuggles, and the way you still need your mama.

But even more than I want to keep you little, I cannot wait to see who you become.

Because Jovie Kalei Pentz, there is something incredibly special about you. I have known it since the moment you came flying into this world. God gave you a light that draws people toward you. You are bold and confident and hilarious and tender and loving all wrapped together. My prayer is that as you grow, that light only gets brighter. That you never make yourself smaller to fit into the world around you. That you use your strength to stand up for people, your confidence to lead people, your joy to encourage people, and your tender heart to love people.

You are an absolute masterpiece and I cannot believe that God picked ME to be your mom.

And so, just as I have every year, I pray this prayer over your life…

Jesus,

I lift up my sweetest baby girl to you. In my weakness and shortcomings as a mom, you are so very strong. You have created an absolute masterpiece in Jovie Kalei Pentz. I am constantly in awe at the wonder of who she is. She is wild and crazy, yet gentle and loving. She is gorgeous beyond words and precious beyond measure. Jesus, take her precious life and hold it so close to your heart. It is my deepest desire that she would come to know you and the power of your resurrection. That she would love and serve you and love and serve your people with every fiber of her being. And that she would be deeply loved in return. Jesus, raise her up to be a mighty woman that stands for the good of all and points people to you. May she fight for justice, mend the brokenhearted, break barriers, and love deeply. May you lead her, guide her, and let your amazing grace fall upon her as she fights back the darkness for your name. Jesus, give her incredible confidence and strength as she pursues the life that you have called her to. Oh Lord, it is my greatest honor and privilege to be her mom. I dream of the day that I will hear her name announced as she walks across the stage to receive her high school diploma, and then her college diploma and beyond. I can picture it now, seeing sweet Jovie in a white gown as the most beautiful bride. Jesus, I pray for her future spouse, that he would love her like you do and lay his life down for his bride. And I have tears in my eyes even now as I imagine the day that Jovie becomes a mom and instantly knows this crazy and incredible love that I feel for her. Jesus, thank you so much for her precious life. Thank you for the gift that she is to our family. Lead her. Guide her. Let your grace wash upon her. She is your beautiful daughter and I am humbled at this opportunity to love her every day of her life.

Amen.

Sweet Jovie girl, SIX years with you could never possibly be enough. I wish I could slow it all down, but since I can’t, I promise to soak it all in. Every snuggle. Every song. Every gymnastics meet. Every ridiculous joke. Every giant smile. Every adventure. Every ordinary Tuesday. Every bit of magic that comes with getting to be your mom.

And now we are off to DisneyWorld to celebrate the most magical six year old I know! I hope when you look back on this trip someday you remember the rides and the princesses and the fireworks and all of the fun. But more than anything, I hope you remember how ridiculously, completely, overwhelmingly LOVED you are.

Happy 6th Birthday, my sweetest buttercup. You are more than I ever could have dreamed of and one of the greatest gifts of my entire life.

Love you to the moon, around all the stars, and back to home.

Mom