Serene turns four

Our big girl is four! Serene requested a "kitty dollhouse" birthday, a concept I tried to execute by incorporating her favorites of late: kittens, the color pink, role-playing, flowers, and pancakes. Since having kids, we've managed to surprise them the morning of their birthdays with a special breakfast and gifts. I originally planned on making a hoop wreath to serve as a backdrop for Serene's birthday breakfast. I wrapped strips of white fabric around a dollar store hula hoop and arranged fresh light pink flowers onto its frame. Floral arranging always makes me nervous because I've much to learn about floral design, but Serene loved it, which is what matters. I cut out cat ears and whiskers to attach onto the hoop wreath, transforming it into a kitty silhouette. "It looks like a married kitty, Mommy!" she exclaimed. We also gave Serene cat ears to wear so she could be a kitty herself.

For breakfast, the birthday girl had a tall stack of pancakes, layered and dusted with powdered sugar to resemble a cake. A silver pipe cleaner twisted into the number 4 was the impromptu cake topper. A few chocolate cupcakes purchased from the store became kitty cupcakes after adorned with cat ears cut from black construction paper. She also had strawberry milk, a blended concoction of milk, strawberries, and honey.

Serene had been asking for a dollhouse for a while, for she has a penchant for role-playing with little figurines. In the midst of researching dollhouses during the couple of months leading up to her birthday, a sweet friend graciously gifted us her daughter's hardly used dollhouse and furniture. Such an undeserved blessing! We got a nursery set to complete the collection so that the doll family includes a baby, just like ours. Serene was so excited to furnish and play with her dollhouse, especially because she has a "daddy doll, mommy doll, jie jie doll, boo boo doll, and mei mei doll."

My heart swells with gratitude to behold the gift Serene is to our family. She is observant, inquisitive, enthusiastic, outgoing, and loving. God uses her to teach me much of Himself through her eagerness to learn about Jesus and anything we're trying to teach her, her willingness to be helpful in a sometimes chaotic household, her tender love for her siblings, and her knack for finding joy in the littlest things. We love you so much, Serene Joy Joy! May you continue to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our precious Lord and Savior!