Ansley turned ten on September 15, which is the day after we got home from the beach, which is why this is so late. We are entering the double digits now, and I'm not sure I'm prepared. I always get a little weepy at the passing of time, even though I really wouldn't want to go back to two or five or eight year old Ansley because I so enjoy the girl that she is becoming.

{Always birthday streamers. I wish I could remember when I started this, but needless to say, my kids look forward to it every year on their birthday. And this year, they all had to walk through the streamers!}
And of course, the birthday tradition since she was three, the Birthday Interview. On with the interview!
M(ama): What do you want to be when you grow up?
A(nsley): A Mom. (Oh, this brings me great joy. This is the first year she has said this, and it delights me. I like to think that it's because I make it appealing to her, but I don't know if that's the case.)
M: What is your favorite thing God made?
A: Outside. (This is very true. She LOVES being outside!)
M: What is your favorite activity?
A: Baking, making scrapbooks with Mom, reading about animals, or making things with Dad.
M: What is your favorite animal?
A: Cats. Dogs. Cheetahs. Bluebirds.
M: What is your favorite bug?
A: Butterflies.
M: What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?
A: Build things. He helps me learn things. (Ouch, says the Mama-teacher who teaches all day.)
M: What is your favorite thing to do with Mama?
A: Bake things. Play board games.
M: How many kids do you think you will have?
A: Four. Two boys and two girls. (Interesting. This is exactly what she said last year.)
M: Will you get married?
A: Yes.

(Birthday donuts. Ten candles. I love traditions, and I love my sweet ten year old!)
M: What is your favorite thing to do with Christian?
A: Play Legos, dollhouse, tag, or jump on the trampoline.
M: What is your favorite thing to do with Avery?
A: Airplane, piggy back, or horsie.
M: Who is your favorite friend?
A: Paige.
M: Who is your second favorite friend?
A: Avery (This is our 10 year old neighbor, not her sister.)

(We went to Mimi's for her birthday dinner, where Mimi made pot roast - her favorite - and I made the birthday cake.)
M: What do you dislike?
A: Spaghetti. And I'm not crazy about pink lemonade.
M: What is your favorite song?
A: Bond. And La De Da (from Seeds of Worship CD.)
M: How old is Dad?
A: 44
M: How old is Mom?
A: 38. (Wow these questions aren't as interesting when she knows the right answer!)

(Ansley LOVES cookie dough, so I made her this cookie dough cake. She thought it was delicious!)
M: What is your favorite day?
A: Friday.
M: What is your favorite snack?
A: Homemade cookies that you make. Cookie dough cake. And the cookies Mimi and I make when I go to her house.
M: What is your favorite place to go?
A: Wasabi and Hibachi. (She has an obsession with Japanese food.)
(Ansley's gifts. She also got some purple UGG boots that aren't pictured.)
M: What is your favorite memory from this past year?
A: My birthday.
M: What is the best thing about being ten?
A: Nothing. I look the same, everything's the same, the number just moves up. (I know my favorite thing is the hormones that appear!)
M: Which would you rather be, a carrot or a fish?
A: Fish.
M: Why?
A: Because a carrot would get eaten.
M: What does Dad do all day?
A: Work.
M: What does Mom do all day?
A: Cook. And clean. And take care of us.

(This year was the first year that it was also very much a friend birthday. She received so many calls and texts from friends, as well as friends coming by and dropping off gifts. Her sweet friend Grace Elizabeth brought her a gift at church that morning with this card. So cute!)
M: What is your favorite thing in the whole wide world?
A: My family. (Mine too.)
M: What is your favorite subject?
A: Math. (See above on hormones. At ten, you learn sarcasm.)
M: What is your least favorite subject?
A: I don't have one. (See above.)
M: What is your favorite toy?
A: My dollhouse - I like realistic things.
M: What are you most looking forward to?
A: Using all my birthday gifts.
M: What is your favorite restaurant?
A: Wasabi. I think I already said that.
M: Tell me about Jesus.
A: He can do anything. He is powerful. He helps us. He loves me. He made me.

(This is from her sweet friend Paige, who came by that afternoon.)

(That evening we enjoyed a birthday fire in our backyard.)
We are so thankful for all that Ansley brings to our family! She is extremely helpful and service oriented, she makes friends everywhere we go, she is sensitive and loving, and we are blessed to watch her grow. I know that we are entering the alien years, as some say, but I am confident with much prayer and the guidance, love and affection that we have shown her the past ten years, we will not just survive but will be challenged and grow together in the year (and years) that lie ahead.
We so love you, Ansley! Happy Tenth Birthday!
(You can click here to see Ansley's Nine Year Interview, or if you want to go way back click here to see Ansley's Four Year Interview.)