Dear Taryn,

 Dear Taryn,

Oh little Miss T, I love you so much.  I just cannot believe that you're 7 years old.  That in one year you'll be old enough to be baptized!  You are a bundle of energy and fun and sass and silliness.  You are so darling and loving and we just adore you.  It's been a full year for you and we're excited to see what the coming year brings for you, little miss.

We had a busy year this year in our family.  Activities after school slowly started becoming available again and with you and Kenna old enough to be more involved we've had very busy evenings.  But it's also been really fun to see you and your siblings develop new talents and grow in new ways.  So I guess we'll put up with being really busy if we get to watch you shine.

We traveled more this year than last year, thankfully.  We had a great spring break trip to Sri Lanka.  We spent a week in a bungalow just off the the beach.  You loved petting the dogs that lived on the property, finding hermit crabs, and trying to spot the huge monitor that lived beneath our bungalow.  You did not love the massive spider that made an appearance in the bathroom one night but you were surprisingly brave and cool with all the little critters and bugs.  You LOVED seeing the huge waves and could have played in them all day every day.  They were the biggest waves we've seen yet as a family and we had to be a little careful with you and your sister.  You'd come out in the water with your dad and I in our arms until we were too tired to hold you and get smashed by the waves and then you'd head back to the beach and play in the waves where you could touch.  You loved collecting shells and building creations in the sand.  We visited an elephant preserve and made a trip up to Kandy to explore.  It was a lot of driving a few days and a lot of time on the beach others.  You were so happy in the car as long as we had an audio book.  You've really grown to love audiobooks this year and prefer to always have one playing, even in the house.

Our summer in the U.S. was busy this year.  We went to Denver then saw Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, then we visited the Larsons in Kentucky for just a day.  Then we drove to Virginia where Kenzie, Trevan and Tucker were spending their summer to meet your new cousin baby Marlee.  She was the cutest little squish and you were absolutely thrilled to have a turn holding her.  You came into your own singing voice this summer and sing loud and proud in your exaggerated operatic voice with plenty of vibrato.  You almost died of happiness when I was holding Marlee and she was fussy but you came over and sang, "Somewhere over the rainbow" to her and she fell asleep. You were beyond proud.  

Next we drove to DC where we spent a very full few days with Nana and Grandpa exploring all the museums and monuments.  We'd done some research projects to prepare and I have been so looking forward to taking you kids to DC and learning about American history.  You did your presentation on the the space program in anticipation of going to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.  We walked miles and miles every day in the hot summer sun but you and your siblings were troopers.  At the end of one long day we found a shallow pool to splash in and you and your sibling had such a great time cooling off and making friends with new kids.  You learned how to cartwheel this year and you cartwheel every moment you can.  It was fun to take pictures and videos of you cartwheeling all over the country this summer.

After DC we went to Pennsylvania to tour Gettysburg with Adam and Cami and their kids.  Then after a quick day in Philadelphia we drove to New Hampshire for the end of our repat.  It was a very full summer with so much driving but you guys were so amazing.  

Our last trip of the year was to France with Mallo and Carson.  With a new strain of COVID on the rise things were starting to shut down left and right but we made it in and made it home just in time.  We spent one day in Luxembourg and then drove to Paris.  We explored museums, spent two days at Disney, and wandered around Paris seeing the sights and stopping frequently for snacks.  After a few days in Paris we went skiing in La Bresse.  Taryn, you have no fear when you have skis strapped to your feet.  It is astounding to me every time we take you skiing how quickly you can pick it up again!  You had lessons a couple of mornings and then you went up the mountain with us for the first time this year in the afternoons.  You were so fearless. You were beyond proud that you were old enough and advanced enough to join the whole family on a few runs.  You just liked to point your skis down the mountain and go.  We tried to convince you that turning to burn off speed and maintain a bit more control was the ticket but you didn't always want to ski that way.  Mallo and I mentioned many times how amazing it was to see you and your sister tackle something that is so unnatural to us with such abandon.  We ended the days so tired and so satisfied.  There's something really filling and exciting about learning something new and getting better at it. 

Taryn you are a pretty good eater for a 6 year old.  You love fruit.  Mango is probably your favorite.  You don't especially care for bananas but you'll eat most any other fruit.  You don't like most vegetables and when they're on your plate you usually ignore them.  We can convince you to eat bell peppers, especially if there's a dip of some kind, and salad if there's a yummy dressing.  Otherwise, you'll pass.  Usually politely so that's a win.  You love pasta with white sauce, pancakes, mac and cheese, and your favorite meal is a quick crock pot chile with cans of veggies, chicken, and cream cheese which you call "cheese chicken chile".  We usually have it at least a couple of times a month because it's helpful to have something done in the crock pot on busy nights and it's a something everyone will eat.  You love to help in the kitchen but you don't have to be present for every step like you used to.  You've got other things to do!

Kindergarten was a good year for you.  Your teacher, Ms. Ami was a good fit.  She tried hard to make the most of a really challenging year and she loved you.  She loved your spunk and energy and found your personality delightful which, as a parent, was so wonderful.  You were noticeably behind in reading at the end of kindergarten and your dad and I had started to wonder if something was going on in your little brain that made it extra challenging for you.  We did some research and a lot of your challenging moments and the heightened emotions you seem to struggle with sometimes seemed to line up with ADHD symptoms.  We talked to our doctor in CO and she agreed that it sounded like ADHD.  When we got back to Saudi we had a couple of appointments, did more research, and prayed a lot and decided that trying some medication felt like the right step for you right now.  You took it all really well and seemed to understand that every body and every brain is a little different.  You liked the analogy of having a race car brain with bicycle brakes and having some tools and training to strengthen your brakes has helped you enormously not just academically but socially as well.  This year you've been able to remember friends' names from school.  You've been able to relate more details about your school day at lunch and at the end of the day.  You still struggle with big emotions and sometimes you have a hard time controlling those impulses when you're overwhelmed with big feelings but you're doing so much better and trying hard. 

1st grade has been great so far.  Your teacher is Ms. Auchterlonie.  She adores you.  She loves the energy and fun you bring to class.  She gushes about how grateful and helpful you are.  She's seen your huge improvement this year and she knows you and loves you.  We've been so lucky with your teachers, Taryn babe.  We had a parent teacher conference with Ms. Auchterlonie just 6 weeks into the school year and we knew she understood you when she told us how much she loves your "exuberance".  What a perfect term for 6 year old you.  

You've been incredibly lucky, like your brother Finn, to benefit from morning tutoring sessions with Ms. LeNae Boyett.  She is a treasure.  She agreed to meet with you last fall and we talked about some things that we were worried about.  You struggled to remember names and sounds of letters.  Sounding out words was overwhelming and writing was just impossible.  She agreed to work with you every morning for 30 minutes before school and you have loved every single day.  She lets you pick a prize at the end of every work week and you live for those Thursday prize days.  She's helped you in so many ways beyond just reading and writing.  You have more confidence and tolerance for reading and writing when they get hard because you know you can do them now.  It has been a huge blessing in your life to have Ms. LeNae help you get on top of reading and writing and now you love it.  You love reading and you are so proud of your writing from school.  It's been an incredible blessing.  

This year you tried soccer in the fall of your 1st grade year and absolutely loved it.  Your dad coached your team which made you so proud to begin with.  You LOVED running and you were so happy to get right in the mix and get the ball.  I think it's a great sport for little you.  You also started choir with Ms. Kellie this year.  You're in the same choir as Finn and Kenna and I love doing the pick up car pool from choir because you and your buddies come out of choir so happy and singing all the way home.  

You have good little buddies.  When I come to you classroom at school everyone knows you and you seem to get along with everyone.  When it came time to make your birthday list it was really hard to narrow down how many kids from your class you could invite.  You and Kenna chose to have an arts and crafts birthday and had such a good time celebrating and crafting for a couple of hours with your buddies.  Your best buddies are probably Addie Weitzel and Lucette and Clara Arnold. Both of their families are moving back to the US this year so it will be difficult next year without them.  Their families have been so good to us and we'll miss them so much.

You are a good sister and daughter, little one.  You have a lot of energy and enthusiasm.  You aren't afraid to tell someone if they're bothering you, you know your siblings buttons and you occasionally relish in pushing them over and over.  But you also love writing kind notes and drawing pictures for people.  Any time you have treats from a holiday, we find you for the next week writing notes to people you care about and taping pieces of candy to them until all of your candy is gone and you are thrilled with the choice you made.  You could wrestle for half an hour and you can just as easily sit and color a coloring page for half an hour.  You do not love doing chores and sometimes it takes some mentoring and re-checking to get things done the right way but eventually we get there.  You know who you are and you seem to like it. You are strong and determined and any pushing or directing is not usually welcomed.  I love your strength, Taryn.  You have so much confidence and spark.  It's a thing of beauty.  

Taryn, this year has been difficult in new and old ways.  But you've weathered the storm with our family team and we're better for it.  We love you as tight as your hugs and as big as your smile.  You're a treasure to our family, Miss T.  

Happy birthday, little girl.  

The world is yours,

Mom