Dear Hannah:

I can not believe five is already here. Everyone says how fast the time will fly and to take in every minute. I have all of these snapshots in my head of you over the past 5 years and they all bring me smiles. You are such a spark of light to our household. You never cease to amaze me and daddy with the things you know and the words you use. You keep us laughing all the time and once you know something makes us laugh you want to keep doing or saying it over and over.


We label you as strong willed and even though that can be a challenge at times, we would not have it any other way. There is never a dull moment and it keeps our prayer life active.

You love everything girl. From princesses, to Barbie’s, to Hannah Montana and everything in between – you are all girl. You have a say in how your hair will be worn and what clothes you will wear. You love to dress up and put on mommy’s shoes and you love to dance and sing. One of your favorite things to do is to pretend you are on American Idol or So You Think You Can Dance and get up in front of us and do your thing. Then we have to vote and we always have to say “Congratulations – you’re going to Hollywood” and then you will scream and pretend to cry because you are so excited. I love it. It makes me laugh out loud every single time. You are an artist and are forever drawing pictures and coloring. You love to practice your letters and try to spell things. It is so fun to be able to tell you the letters to put to spell a word and you can do it. You are just so full of life and love and I am never disappointed in what the day brings.

I love watching you as you are starting to understand Jesus. The questions you ask are already getting hard. Sometimes when we are in the car, you will say “Mom, I love Jesus” and it makes my heart soar every single time. It is going to be such a joy watching you figure out His love for you and what it means to be His child.

I can not believe in just one short month we will be saying goodbye to daycare and hello to Kindergarten. You are so ready. You are independent and social and I know you are going to love it. We are welcoming a whole new season of life and I hope it is everything you want it to be.

Mommy’s prayer for you is to continue to embrace life with the same gusto you have right now. I pray you will love with the same passion and although there will be new obstacles and new hurts you have not yet experienced, you will always know you can come home and be safe and loved. Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you and we are so thankful God has entrusted us with your care.

I love you. Happy 5th Birthday.