Gloria!

Gloria turned 9 on July 28th.  I wrote the following about her on March 2, 2014.
Gloria is a wild elf with a glorious spirit.  A sanguine, bubbly, laughing delight.  She's insightful, bold and intelligent.  She's also saucy, compassionate, helpful, talented and quick.

Once, last year, while preparing to Christmas shop, I found an envelope marked, "To Santa from Gloria".  I opened it in the hopes it would help me know what to buy. But instead of a list, I found a lovely picture she'd drawn for him.  I smiled. That's Gloria. Luckily I found another one.  But when I opened this one, I discovered a thank-you letter she had written to Santa for her gifts from the previous year.  An exceptional child.  She is continually offering to help and looking to comfort the baby.

One night, a couple of weeks ago, at bedtime, she shared with me that she had just said her prayers, asking if Heavenly Father was really there.  she told me she had felt the Spirit answering yes.  When asked, just now, what she likes to do in her free time, she answered that she likes to read and to draw.  She takes initiative in working on her "Faith in God" achievements, and is doing wonderfully well in school.  She is a girl who champions good.  If friends are behaving badly or being unkind, she'll mention her discomfort over it to us, and even to them.

I believe she is a child of extraordinary gifts who has a grand mission to perform in this life.  She has begun calling me "mom," which positively makes my heart sing.  I am so blessed to have her as a daughter- to receive her many daily hugs, to sing to her at night, and to help her discover how precious she is.  There is no one to compare to Gloria.  And she sings like an angel.  Love you, girl!