My daughter

I just had to take a minute and brag on my sweet daughter!

It is so amazing to see a child transform!  Karis has always been a very independent, strong-willed child.  It was always very trying for me because I was not that way as a child.  I never wanted to disobey or disappoint.

In the last year I have seen this girl grow and blossom.  I almost don't know who she is!  There's not as much arguing, pushing her point, pushing the limits, getting into things like baby powder or sneaking snacks to her bed.  And yes, she has done those things.  Well, the baby powder all over the bathroom was a long time ago, the sneaking sweets to her bed was in Spain.

What I've seen is a kind, young lady.  A girl who is willing to give up the window seat on the bus to her younger sister, jump at the chance to carry a grocery bag and give her brother a piece of her candy.

I've also been SO proud of her hard work and determination in school.
Because she was learning to read and write in Spanish last year, it put her behind in first grade in her current school.  The teacher doing the testing along with the principal felt that it would be beneficial for her to have some specialized, one on one reading.  They felt she would be caught up half way through the school year.  

After the first quarter, I was called in for a meeting to go over Karis' progress.  In that meeting (this would have been in October) I was told that Karis had already caught up.  Normally they phase out the one on one time, but felt that Karis was doing so well that they didn't even need to do that.

This girl started out in the lowest group of readers in her first grade class.  And before Christmas, just 4 months later, Karis is now in the second highest group of readers in her class!  Amazing!

She is also quite a little whiz at math!

The elementary part of the school does a color chart for behavior.  Every day each child starts out on green.  If they do something like talking out of turn, doing something to another student, etc. they will be moved down the color chart, after one warning.  If they do something exceptional, they could be moved up to the highest color of orange.  Karis has made it a goal to be on orange.  She's done it so many times now that she has gotten a few prizes.  If I remember correctly, that happens once they reach 7 oranges.

Somewhere along the way, maybe age.....maybe a bit of training and definitely growing in her knowledge of Jesus Christ, she is becoming selfless.

I thought I'd be a little cheesy and write up an acronym for Karis.

Kindness ~ One day she told me that when someone gets hurt on the playground she is quick to help.  She noticed that others just stop and stare, but she stops what she is doing to help and make sure they are ok.  That's my girl!!

Amusing ~ She is developing quite the sense of humor!  She makes me laugh!
Righteous ~  I mean it in the sense that doing the right thing is becoming important to her.  Take, for instance tattling.  Now, she comes in a very humble way to tell me they are doing something they shouldn't do.

Integrity ~ I see her becoming strong and bold in her knowledge and relationship with Jesus Christ.  There is nothing like seeing your child love Jesus and want to be more like him.  One morning I was fixing her hair, she told me that she was headed to her bedroom to pray before school started.

Strong-willed ~ She's still got this in her, but now I see her using it more in a positive way.  She's learning how to tame that will and use it for the glory of God.

And you can't forget about the fact that Vienna thinks she's pretty great since they have an u-bahn stop with her name on it!  Ha!

 I love you, sweet girl!  And I love seeing what God is doing in your life!