Norah recently.

It's past time for another update, but Norah is growing up and doing great! We are so thankful for the gift of being her parents. Norah finished up third grade well! She did winter rec basketball and spring rec soccer and did well with both of those. It will be interesting to see what activities are her favorite as she gets older. We had a great time as a family at Great Wolf Lodge in January for their big Christmas gift. Norah got influenza in February and was super sick for a few days unfortunately. Norah got great remarks at conferences and we are thankful for her growth at school. She also continued on with Sunday School, tap/jazz dance class, and piano lessons. She had an end of the year piano recital and dance recital and it was fun to watch her in both of those and see her progress. Norah had a third grade music program at school and a class play at the end of the year too. On April 24, Norah had another set of tubes and her tonsils out, so that was a big deal for her! She was nervous about it but overall handled it pretty well, and the recovery wasn't actually as bad as I thought it would be. Of course it wasn't fun for her, but she did better at managing the pain than I was expecting and we are glad it's over for her! I can tell it's helping already with ear/throat issues. So glad for access to good medical care! In the spring, we got to spend Easter in Des Moines and Omaha with family and had a wonderful time at Tulip Festival too! Norah got to participate in Dutch dancing.

We have been busy over the summer- grateful for the opportunity to participate in lots of things and take some trips! We got to take a couple quick trips to Des Moines for family time and went to Omaha for the 4^th of July too. We went to Clear Lake for a few days in July with the Schuts and enjoyed lots of lake time. We went to Chicago with De Jongs for a long weekend in August and enjoyed Lake Michigan, Willis Tower, aquarium, and a super fun highlight was the American Girl doll store! Norah got to do many fun things this summer. She did summer softball, swimming lessons, piano lessons, flag, a short dance camp and adventure camp at Oak Grove, and loved the craft class at the library.

Norah is about to start 4^th grade! She is having some anxieties about starting again, like she has every year so far, but we are praying about it over her and together and trying to speak truth and Scripture together. She found out that she will have a couple friends in her class and that is helping her feel more excited. She is smart and lovely and she will take some time to adjust, but will do great! She is wearing XL/12-14 clothes and has even gotten a few XS things from the women's section! She is jumping up to a 4 shoe for the school year. We did one on one dates for back to school shopping and it was fun to see her pick out clothes she liked. She will start a jazz and lyrical dance class this year soon.

Norah loves little kids and says she wants to babysit when she gets a little older. She is a great older cousin and loves well many young kids in our church and neighborhood. Norah loves to listen to music, make up dances, write stories, ride bike, make bracelets/crafts, and play with figurines like Lil Woodzeez or playmobil sets. The pool has been a favorite summer activity by all. Norah, loving you is a joy and we pray that His love would become more and more real in your heart as you get older and that you would shine for Him! We love you!