Jovie is SEVEN

My Dearest Jovie Kalei,

SEVEN!!! How in the WORLD are you SEVEN?!? My sweetest baby girl, I swear I blinked and somehow seven whole years have passed since you came flying into this world and immediately wrapped every single one of us around your tiny little finger. And yet, I truly cannot remember what life was like before you. You have filled every single corner of our family with so much joy and laughter and ridiculousness that it feels like you have always been here.

Oh Jovie girl, I absolutely adore you.

There is simply no possible way to put you into words. You are sunshine and joy and laughter all wrapped up in one tiny, gorgeous little package. You are hilarious and wild, incredibly smart, sweet and snuggly, compassionate and thoughtful, with just the perfect slice of sass to keep us all laughing and doing basically whatever you want. 😂

You are just SO MUCH FUN.

You have been since the day you were born.

There is something about you that draws people in. You have this giant personality and an infectious joy that seems to follow you everywhere you go. Your whole face lights up when you’re excited, and somehow everyone around you starts smiling too. You make ordinary things fun. A trip to the store becomes an adventure. A random afternoon becomes a dance party. A boring room becomes a stage. And somehow you can turn approximately three blankets, six pillows, and every chair in the house into an elaborate fort that nobody is allowed to dismantle for the next four days. 😂

Seeing the world through your eyes makes everything more magical.

I’ve written that about you since you were tiny, and somehow it becomes more true every year.

You notice things the rest of us miss. You ask gigantic questions about Jesus and people and the world and how everything works. Sometimes your questions stop me completely in my tracks because I can’t believe something so profound just came out of my seven-year-old…and then five minutes later you’re doing something completely ridiculous and we’re all dying laughing.

That’s you.

Wild and thoughtful.

Silly and wise.

Fierce and tender.

Independent and still my snuggly little baby.

You are this incredible combination of all the things I love most.

This year has been filled with so much growing and learning and adventure. You have jumped into school with your whole heart. You love your friends and your teachers and learning new things, and you bring that gigantic Jovie personality everywhere you go. You are curious and smart and brave, and I love watching you discover the things that make your heart come alive.

And my goodness, you LOVE your people.

Your kids are still some of your favorite humans on the planet. You adore Zack and Hallie, and they have adored you since the second they laid eyes on you. Somehow, all these years later, you still have both of them completely wrapped around your finger. You cheer for them and snuggle them and annoy them and make them laugh and somehow convince them to do things for you that I’m pretty sure they would refuse to do for anyone else. 😂

And I absolutely LOVE watching the three of you together.

You love your friends deeply too. You make friends everywhere you go because people are simply drawn to you. You have this beautiful little heart that notices people. You want everyone included. You celebrate people. You care when someone is hurting. There is a tenderness inside of you that is so much bigger than your tiny body.

Jovie, you are a bright light in a world that desperately needs it.

I wrote those words when you turned one, and every year I watch them become more and more true.

You bring JOY.

You bring laughter.

You bring wonder.

You bring love.

Just by being completely and unapologetically YOU, you make the world around you better.

And I hope you never lose that.

I hope you always dance barefoot in the kitchen when your favorite song comes on. I hope you keep asking enormous questions. I hope you keep laughing with your entire body. I hope you keep dreaming gigantic dreams. I hope you keep noticing the person standing on the outside and inviting them in. I hope you keep loving people with that enormous Jovie heart.

I hope you always know that you don’t have to become anything extraordinary someday.

You already are.

Jovie Kalei Pentz, you are an absolute masterpiece.

And seven years later, I still can’t believe that God chose ME to be your mom.

So today, just as I have every year of your precious life, I pray this prayer over you…

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.

My sweetest Jovie girl, seven years with you have gone impossibly fast. I wish I could bottle up your little voice and your gigantic laugh and your snuggles and your silly faces and every single ordinary moment with you and keep them forever.

But since I can’t stop time, I promise to keep soaking you up.

Every snuggle.

Every dance party.

Every gigantic question.

Every ridiculous joke.

Every adventure.

Every single bit of YOU.

Because being your mom is one of the greatest joys of my entire life.

You are precious beyond words. You are joy personified. You are the bright light I prayed you would be.

And Jovie Pentz, I still believe with every fiber of my being that you are absolutely going to change the world.

Happy SEVENTH Birthday, my sweetest baby girl.

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

Mom