This month our oldest daughter Ali turned sixteen. I can hardly believe that I have a sixteen year old...(and a three year old!) We are so proud of our Ali and I wanted to take time to brag on her and celebrate her this month. Ali is actually in New York right now with the high school economics team competing in Euro Challenge after they won last month when they competed in Chicago.
I remember the day Ali was born like it was yesterday. Ali tried to arrive early like all my kids, and thankfully just missed April fools day, actually she has a great sense of humor so it wouldn't have surprised me! I went into preterm labor which they stopped and we proceeded to go on bed rest for at least a few months. I had an unusual situation and ended up going into labor about five weeks early. Ali was ready though and did great. As a young child she loved to read and draw, and later developed a love for writing. She is a wonderful writer and I know God will continue to use that gift in her life. I have so enjoyed her writing and she has such a way with words it really amazes me.
Ali has done more and gone more places in her sixteen years of life than many people! I love her selfless heart in wanting to serve God and be like Jesus. She has a heart for the needy and her life has truly been changed on her mission trips to Mexico and Trinidad, and her recent trip with us to China. She had some wonderful opportunities with some people who live with very little. She also had the chance to see that many of these people were actually quite happy living with less. She witnessed some real poverty and worked in some of the poorest areas in Mexico. I think her favorite time was visiting the special needs orphanage in Trinidad. I think she has learned a lot of life lessons on these trips, certainly a new dependence on God. I know she will never forget these trips and is so fortunate to have had these opportunities.
Ali has a sweet and quiet spirit and she is a thinker. She has a peace and gentleness about her that is an example to the louder people in our house(probably all of us)! She also serves as a small group leader with me at church and the girls really love her. She seeks God in every decision and knows He has the perfect plan for her life. She is striving to live authentically like Christ, which certainly isn't always easy in this world. Wow how I wish when I was sixteen I had known the things she knows. She is an encourager and has been a great encourager to her mom in countless ways! I will never forget a particularly hard time in China when I was crying and Ali opening her bible and praying with me. I love looking back and seeing how Ali's faith has grown. She truly has made it her own and I love the evidence of this in her life.
Ali brings a joy to our house that I am so blessed by. We laugh a lot and laugh until we cry about many things. I love just sitting and talking to her. We share a love for iceeey cream and hand banging on the table laughs! She has a very special relationship with her brother which involves a lot of walks. James loves to walk and I love the way she pours into his little life with their walks! When he sees her, James will usually say to Ali "Ali take a walk" She gets her "aotoman shoes" (roller blades) on and off they go, and weather is not a factor! I am so thankful for my sweet Ali or as James would say Alullee!
