Josie...Living Life Richly

I am so thankful for Josie. She has such a sweet and tender heart. She is very thoughtful and can feel things very deeply with others. Today we got back to camp and realized that Jena had left her stuffed kitty at church. Josie got a sad look on her face and said, "Jena must be sad about that." Then her face brightened as she told Jena she could borrow her own stuffed kitty.
She is very in tune with others' feelings and can tell right away if I'm sad or frustrated...and she'll gently ask me about it.

She loves little babies and is so gentle with them. I can still remember when her cousin Madelyn was born and Josie got to hold her for the first time. She was so proud as she looked at her with admiration in her arms (that was after she told me, "Mommy, you don't need to hold her head, I can do it."...and sure enough she could! She knows exactly what to do with babies). She seems to intuitively know how to treat those who are not as "powerful" as her...babies, little kids, animals (she absolutely loves animals, so this summer has been really fun for her with dogs, cats and horses around!)

She is also quite a leader. She loves planning and organizing things and I can totally see her as an events planner, or a wedding coordinator when she grows up. She often asks me if I have remembered certain things to do or to bring with us (and sometimes I haven't...I think I've lost a lot of brain cells in the last few years) so I'm thankful for her organizational and leadershihp qualities!
She is such a great combination of determination and tenderness. She experiences each emotion to the fullest. She lives life "richly" as my brother-in-law would say! She's going to go far in life...pray for us that we'll do a good job of "channeling her energies" in the right direction!

It's so fun to watch how two sisters can be so different...uniquely and perfectly made by God...and to watch how much they love each other (most of the time). We are so thankful for both of them! We are so blessed!