ELEVEN years ago this darling baby girl made her grand appearance, and the world has never been the same.

It is a brighter, more joyous place because she is in it.

Nae shoon to hide her tiny taes,
Nae stockin’ on her feet;
Her supple ankles white as snaw,
Or early blossoms sweet.

Her simple dress o’ sprinkled pink,
Her double, dimplit chin,
Her puckered lips an’ baumy mou’,
With na ane tooth within.

Her een sae like her mither’s een,
Twa gentle, liquid things;
Her face is like an angel’s face,
We ’re glad she has nae wings.

~ Jeremiah Eames Rankin, “The Baby”

Little Miss!
Belly Boo!
Annabelle Jane!

Happy Birthday!

You are ELEVEN!!!

And what a beautiful girl you are,
inside and out.

A sparkly gem.  An immeasurable treasure.

My Mama heart can’t really handle how much you’ve grown…7 inches in the last 2 years!  As you chasse’ ever closer to your teen years (eek!), you are discovering more and more the exceptional young woman that God made you to be.

What delight the Lord must have felt when He tenderly crafted the brilliant, creative, sensitive soul that is you.  Because you, my sweet, are a delight.

A beautiful poem, bedazzled with wit, laughter, perception and faith.

And so with this birthday post I will (try to) get (mostly) out of the way and let you, and the verses you love, do the talking.  For as you reminded me the other day, in this crazy Ballad called “Life,” God made you a Protagonist who knows who you are, what you think, and how you feel.

Though she be but [eleven], she is fierce.
~ William Shakespeare

I’m just so thankful that this Mama gets to come along for the rhymes!

************

Little Miss 11-Year Old Annabelle

A Daughter
Caring Helper, Hug Giver, Latte Buddy, Baby Girl

Golden slumbers kiss your eyes,
Smiles awake you when you rise;
Sleep, pretty wantons, do not cry,
And I will sing a lullaby,
Rock them, rock them, lullaby.
Care is heavy, therefore sleep you,
You are care, and care must keep you;
Sleep, pretty wantons, do not cry,
And I will sing a lullaby,
Rock them, rock them, lullaby.

~ Thomas Dekker, “A Cradle Song”

Little miss, pretty miss,
Blessings light upon you!
If I had half a crown a day,
I’d spend it all upon you.
~ Mother Goose

Big Sister
Fiercely Loving, Always Playing, Leader of the Pack
Rivals at Times…Best Buds Always

A new commandment I give to you,
that you love one another:
just as I have loved you,
you also are to love one another.
By this all people will know
that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.

~John 13:34-45

How do you like to go up in a swing,
Up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall,
Till I can see so wide,
Rivers and trees and cattle and all
Over the countryside.

Till I look down on the garden green,
Down on the roof so brown.
Up in the air I go flying again,
Up in the air and down!

~Robert Louis Stevenson, “The Swing”

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
Sailed off in a wooden shoe–
Sailed on a river of crystal light,
Into a sea of dew.
“Where are you going, and what do you wish?”
The old moon asked of the three.
“We have come to fish for the herring fish
That live in this beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we!”
Said Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

The old moon laughed and sang a song,
As they rocked in the wooden shoe,
And the wind that sped them all night long
Ruffled the waves of dew.
The little stars were the herring fish
That lived in that beautiful sea–
“Now cast your nets wherever you wish–
Never afeard are we!”
So cried the stars to the fishermen three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod…

~ Eugene Field, “Wynken, Blynken and Nod”

Family
Devoted Granddaughter, Niece, and Cousin
Baby Holder Extraordinaire

You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

~Psalm 23:5-6

Star high
Baby low:
‘Twixt the two
Wise men go;
Find the baby,
Grasp the star
Heirs of all things
Near and far!

~ George MacDonald, “Christmas Day and Every Day”

A Friend
Compassionate, Caring, FUN

I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.

I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of song?

Long, long afterward, in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroke;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “The Arrow and the Song”

A Student
Smart, Passionate, Resilient, Hard Working
Whether learning at home, in a (masked) class, through a book, on the computer, or traveling for a field trip

He ate and drank the precious words,
His spirit grew robust;
He knew no more that he was poor,
Nor that his frame was dust.
He danced along the dingy days,
And this bequest of wing
Was but a book.  What liberty
A loosened spirit brings!

~ Emily Dickinson

There is no Frigate like a Book
To take us Lands away,
Nor any Coursers like a Page
Of prancing Poetry.
This Traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of Toll;
How frugal is the Chariot
That bears the Human Soul.

~ Emily Dickinson

Little drops of water,
Little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean
And the pleasant land.

Thus the little minutes,
Humble though they be,
Make the mighty ages
Of eternity…

~ Ebenezer Cobham Brewer, “Little Things”

Athlete (and High-Flying Mermaid)
Strong, Graceful, Competitive

Fairy snow, fairy snow,
Blowing, blowing everywhere,
Would that I
Too, could fly
Lightly, lightly through the air.

~Sara Teasdale, “Snow Song”

Joy Bringer, Laugh Maker

Draw a crazy picture,
Write a nutty poem,
Sing a mumble-grumble song,
Whistle through your comb.
Do a loony-goony dance
‘Cross the kitchen floor,
Put something silly in the world
That ain’t been there before.

~Shel Silverstein, “Put Something In”

Let’s have one day for girls and boyses
When you can make the grandest noises.
Screech, scream, holler, and yell–
Buzz a buzzer, clang a bell,
Sneeze–hiccup–whistle–shout,
Laugh until your lungs wear out…

~ Shel Silverstein, “Noise Day”

Tenderheart
Loving, Sensitive, Loyal

It’s all I have to bring today,
This, and my heart beside,
This, and my heart, and all the fields,
And all the meadows wide.
Be sure you count, should I forget –
Some one the sum could tell – 
This, and my heart, and all the bees
Which in the clover dwell.

~ Emily Dickinson

Adventurer
Curious, Challenge Lover, Thrill Seeker
(In a wild year of many firsts)

Ask, and it will be given to you;
seek, and you will find;
knock, and it will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives,
and the one who seeks finds,
and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

~ Matthew 7:7-8

Hide and seek, says the Wind,
In the shade of the woods;
Hide and seek, says the Moon,
To the hazel buds;
Hide and seek, says the Cloud,
Star on to star;
Hide and seek, says the Wave,
At the harbour bar;
Hide and seek, say I,
To myself, and step
Out of the dream of Wake
Into the dream of Sleep.

~Walter de la Mare, “Hide and Seek”

An Artist with Flare
Passion, Imagination, Creativity, Panache!

The Moon was but a Chin of Gold
A Night or two ago –
And now she turns Her perfect Face
Upon the World below.

Her Forehead is of Amplest Blonde –
Her Cheek – a Beryl hewn –
Her Eye unto the Summer Dew
The likest I have known.

Her Lips of Amber never part –
But what must be the smile
Upon Her Friend she could confer
Were such Her Silver Will.

And what a privilege to be
But the remotest Star –
For Certainty She take Her Way
Beside Your Palace Door.

Her Bonnet is the Firmament –
The Universe – Her Shoe –
The Stars – the Trinkets at Her Belt –
Her Dimities – of Blue.

~ Emily Dickinson

A Natural Leader
Strong, Independent, Brave, Magnetic

The hart he loves the high wood,
The hare she loves the hill;
The knight he loves his bright sword,
The lady loves her will.

~ Mother Goose

Boats sail on the rivers,
And ships sail on the seas;
But clouds that sail across the sky
Are prettier far than these.

There are bridges on the rivers,
As pretty as you please;
But the bow that bridges heaven,
And overtops the trees,
And builds a road from earth to sky,
Is prettier far than these.

~Christina Rossetti, “The Rainbow”

Happy Birthday,

Beloved Annabelle Jane.

Lead on!  Write on!  Dance on!  Play on!

With the wind in your hair, a pen in your hand, and Jesus as your guide, the journey ahead of you will be incredible.

Just.Like.You.

Good night! Good night!
Far flies the light;
But still God’s love
Shall shine above,
Making all bright,
Good night! Good night!

~ Victor Hugo, “Good Night! Good Night!”