Seven years old. I'm sorry, what? I wrote about 75% of this blog post about Clarke over two years ago, and recently came across it in my drafts. Decided to post it today for her birthday. Keep reading to learn a little bit about the first of my seven nieces and nephews! P.S. Get ready for one of these blogs for each of my seven nieces and nephews on their seventh birthdays. :)
Clarkie has been my best friend since the second I found out about her. I remember being in the freshmen dorms when my sister, Calli, called to tell me the great news. She was pregnant! I screamed and cried and couldn't believe that i was going to be an aunt! I immediately told everyone on my hall and then everyone on campus. Then, immediately was told by my sister that I had to keep it a secret. Oops.
My life changed after Clarke was born. While Calli was pregnant, I was so excited for what was to come, but I don't think I fully could comprehend just how involved i would be in Clarke's life. She instantly became a part of us. I could not be more obsessed. She was born at the beginning of June and I spent every single day with her until I had to go back to school in August. My friends can attest that I was (and still am) the proudest aunt. It was my favorite thing about myself. I had a niece!
Fast facts about Clarke.
Nickname: Clarkie.
Favorite Things: The Lord, princesses, dress-ups, fairies, make-believe, drawing, performing (The Greatest Showman and High School Musical, mostly), pink, Barbie and Disney Princess movies, and her family.
About: She is a little girl made of magic. She is beautiful, kind, smart, encouraging, and so very loving. She has a heart of gold. She has a zeal for life that we often wish we could bottle up. She gets excited about the most mundane things. She makes everyone around her feel important, happy, and well-loved. She's funny, too. She tries to act like a teenager, and the words and phrases she uses are so "big girl" that it has us laughing daily. I love to be sarcastic and (playfully) sassy with her. Ugghhh she's the best, y'all.
Clarke and I have our very own song. She made it up a couple weeks before I moved to Dallas in 2014 (she had just turned three) and we sing it to each other every time we're together.
"Kiki and Clarkie are best friends forever - even though we may not always be together - we're together in the spirit and we're really, really, really, really cool."
Goodness, I could go on forever about how great of a child Clarke is. I'll leave you with the most important thing about her- her love for the Lord. Clarke has been memorizing scripture since the day she could talk, and it's so impressive. She knows every single book of the Bible, in order, and did not use a song to learn them. She wakes up before the rest of her family and writes out the Lord's Prayer and the 23rd Psalm at the kitchen table. Her Biblical memorization puts me to shame. Her prayers bring us to tears. Her insight on faith and how the Lord works in our lives is unbelievable. She is truly is a girl after God's own heart. She is a leader, not only because she is the oldest of the nieces and nephews, but because she lets her Light shine so bright, people are drawn to her. Her love for the Lord and for others is infectious. And she is just SEVEN.
As much as it pains me to watch her grow and change from a baby, to a toddler, to a little girl, to a big girl- I am so excited to see what God has in store for this extraordinary child.
I love you, Clarke Elise. More than you could ever know! Besties forever!!
Xoxo, Kiki