Olivia Ruth

Every mom thinks her kids are the best, as she should. I definitely think I have the best kids in the world and am immensely thankful for each one. Being a mother is my greatest adventure and I am unable to word my thanks to God for blessing me in such a way. I'm going to give them each their own spot in the blog world. The hard part will be keeping it short! (the box of tissues is ready)

Olivia Ruth will be 11 in Oct. God blessed us with her at the perfect time in our lives. We had been in Cuba for only about 6 mos. when I got pregnant for the first time. I received excellent prenatal care in Cuba, although I had to buy vitamins outside of the country. She was born in DE and we returned to Cuba when she was about 7 wks. old and she spent her first two years there. She has grown up mostly in Peru, with 2 years in the U.S. thrown in there.

We picked the name Olivia, because her grandfather's and dad's first names are Oliver and we liked the feminine counterpart to it. Her middle name is Ruth, after my grandmother and it is also my middle name.

Olivia is a smart, compassionate and loving girl. She is very mature for her age, and because she's almost as tall as I am, people often think she is older than she is. She is a typical big sis, bossing her brothers around, but she loves them both and is a good example to them in many ways. Olivia's favorite pastime is reading. In 2009, she read well over 100 books, and easily. She loves school and has always gotten straight A's. Her favorite subjects are reading, science and history.

She is a faithful friend and has had some wonderful friends over the years. Sleepovers, makeovers, shopping, movies....all more fun for her if surrounded by girlfriends.

Olivia accepted Christ at the age of five, and has grown in the Lord since. Her father baptized her in the ocean in Peru a year ago. She reads her Bible on her own and definitely has an interest in spiritual things. She is very tenderhearted and open to what the Lord wants for her.

Since she was born, she has blessed our home indescribably. As our only daughter, she and I have a special relationship, which I pray only grows stronger with time. We love to have girls' days out together and I am enjoying her company more and more as she gets older.

I could write a book on how special Olivia is, but suffice it to say we are so grateful for the gift God placed in our lives when He gave us our little girl. When she was born we called her our "present girl" because she truly was a gift from God and just at the right time.

May God give us the wisdom to rear her to love Him passionately, love others more than herself and to glorify Him in all her ways.

Miriam