she gallops and growls and lurches and sneers

Natalie has changed so much this school year.  She is reading like a champ and hasn't really had any struggles, which we're so grateful for.  There are many times where she whips through her entire 4-day homework packet in 15 minutes.  She enjoys all of her electives in school as well: Spanish, music, gym.  

She lost two teeth within a couple days of each other which she was ecstatic about!  Most kids in her class had already been losing teeth (so I'm told).  I was honored to have ripped them out myself! 

She still loves to act like an animal, tigers and cheetahs, specifically.  One night, she had a serious discussion with me about her belief that I am not actually her mother.  She said she is pretty sure that her real mom is 'out there somewhere'.  She was quite somber and really troubled so I questioned her more about where she thinks her real mom is.  And to that she answered (completely serious), 'probably the zoo.'  Great!  Jordan has heard about these kinds of people that start to believe they're real animals!  And she is a little too awesome at pretending to be tigers and cheetahs!  Yikes!

Natalie is definitely a jokester but also very sensitive.  For the past couple weeks, with almost every bedtime, she is crying about a certain girl at school who is always telling Natalie, 'you just want to be cool'.  It breaks Natalie's heart (and mine!) and she doesn't want anything to do with 'being cool' because she's worried that it looks like she's trying to be.  I don't remember having feelings like that in first grade already!  But the thing is, Natalie IS cool!  From what she tells us, she usually plays with boys on the playground (which most other girls seem to shy away from).  She's also been coined 'The Dipping Girl' because she gets all adventurous with ranch dressing at lunch time.  Basically, she's just cool because she's herself and she's not obsessed with making any certain impressions.  


And she is brave (like her favorite Disney princess, Merida!)  One night when she was crying about this girl being bossy to her, she shared with me that she told a bully on the bus about how Satan was a good angel but turned bad so God spit him out of heaven.  Then she went on to tell him about how the world was made and Adam & Eve.  Then about Jesus, how he came and died on the cross for him (the little boy) and that God wants him to be in heaven someday.  The boy did that blow-off gesture with his mouth (that I don't know how to convey with words) so Natalie went on to invite him to church (while emphasizing that they get cookies in Sunday School!)  It brought me to tears!  And just this morning, she ran out to our van and grabbed the extra children's bible we have in there to give it to that boy.  And he took it from her.  Seriously, so proud of her!!  She's got the weight of the world on her shoulders already, she actually takes on too much stress sometimes.  But then she gallops and growls and lurches and sneers like the tiger that she is inside... and all is right with the world :)

you know, just eating pizza outside in their bathrobes!