happy birthday Annabelle

Amazingly, another page has turned.  Annabelle Sublett is turning 12!  “Is this the little girl I carried…” well, sort of.  Although it took a good number of years before we finally got to call her family, she’s been in our hearts for ever, and we’d been dreaming of her for years.

She’s a wonderfully unique young lady/little girl.  She’s a great sister, a fierce competitor, and a brave person.  She’s not afraid to get out in the backyard and mix it up with the boys playing wiffle ball, and she’s likely to whip you in a game of Settlers or Quirkle.  She enjoys reading and listening to music, even though she doesn’t have any music on her ipod yet!  Her memory is incredible, and she is very thoughtful of others.  She can be pretty intense and serious, but every once in a while she’ll take a laughing fit that renders her practically unable to breathe!  She probably doesn’t want you to hear her sing, but she loves to worship, enjoys going to church, and is pretty regularly reading her Bible.  It’s fun to see her growing in all areas of life.

She’s at a sleepover tonight with a bunch of other girls, including all of ours.  Kim said that of all the girls, Annabelle was the least excited to go.  But when she got there she found out that she really enjoyed it!  See–willing to try new things is good!

The biggest change that I’ve seen in Annabelle over the past year has to do with Charlie, or with babies in general.  When Annabelle lived in China, she was given the responsibility of caring for infants at a very early age.  As we talked about the possibility of adopting a baby boy, Annabelle was more quiet than the other Sublett kids, and expressed some hesitancy.  She didn’t want to have to take care of a baby.  We assured her that she wouldn’t have to change diapers, babysit, etc.  It didn’t take long, however, before she was jostling to get in line to hold Charlie, to feed Charlie, to try to make him giggle and smile.

Our hearts almost burst when Annabelle walked through the kitchen one day, holding her baby brother, and said, “Mom, I would love to be Charlie’s mom…”

God has done a work in her heart, teaching her what it looks like to love and want and nurture and enjoy a baby.  She didn’t have that picture until recently.  Now she’s looking forward (at least on some level) to having a family of her own some day.  That’s got to be one of the coolest things ever.

And if you prayed for Annabelle, you had a part in that.  If you want to send her birthday greetings, you can leave her a note.  She reads the blog just about every day.

Happy birthday, my lovely daughter Annabelle.  I am proud of you, and I love watching you take care of Charlie.  You’re going to be a great Mom some day!