Rebekah Karunya - Age SIX

Yes, on October 3rd, our sweet Rebekah turned six! With the way she often acts, you'd think she was six going on sixteen. =)

Looking "grown up"

She's certainly feeling her age too. On her birthday she said that she was going to try to start obeying all the time "because I want to act like an adult now." She also decided that now that she is six she should start calling us Mom and Dad instead of Mommy and Daddy. She forgets much of the time, and has asked us more than once to help her remember to call us Mom and Dad!

At the beach in Sri Lanka in September

She also has her first loose tooth (well both bottom teeth are loose, but one is VERY loose), which has made her feel even more grown up. Between turning six and having her first loose tooth, she was nearly beside herself feeling grown-up for a few days!

One thing that she is also excited about these days is learning to ride a bike. She still has a ways to go before taking off the training wheels, but she loves practicing, especially when it means extra time with Daddy Dad.

 Rebekah has become quite the little reader. When she's reading from her school readers, she almost always begs to read more than the allotted portion for that day. Her reading vocabulary is gradually growing, and we're glad that she enjoys it so much. She is especially excited that she can now read fast enough to read a story to Daniel and Hannah without them getting bored!

Rebekah still loves arts and crafts of all kinds. Give her crayons, a paint brush, clay, or any other art supplies, and she'll keep herself busy for quite awhile. The other day she found a book of art projects that I had set aside to use for our art time next year, and she's already done several of the projects. =)

Finger painting with her friends Prathana and Carita

  Last week she said, "When I grow up I want to be a mom who is a pretty good artist. And just one day a week I want to go out and be a doctor."

The doctor ready for surgery

 She loves the stay-at-home Mom idea, but she also wants to be a doctor. And today she said again that she needs to practice a lot so she can be a good artist - just in case one of her kids needs her to teach them how to do artwork. I'm afraid that idea may stem from the fact that she has already pretty much surpassed her mother's drawing skills, which she has mixed feelings about!

 Rebekah is ever our little fashionista. She loves dressing up and looking pretty (in play or for real), and doesn't like to get dirty. She even loves cursive writing (whereas she had a strong dislike for handwriting in manuscript) because it is "fancy writing." 

Showing off her "fancy" cursive

 I always say that Rebekah started talking the day she was born and hasn't stopped since. That is almost true, because although she couldn't communicate in words the day she was born, she certainly communicated, and has been doing so ever since! She loves to learn and know everything, and has so many questions. Often her questions are very good, thought- provoking questions that result in family discussions about this or that.

 The more we listen to what she says and the questions she asks, and how she responds to what we tell her, the more we are convinced that she does truly know the Lord. She made a profession of faith almost exactly three years ago, when she was just barely three. She was a very engaged 3-year-old, and it seemed that she just might understand what she had done, but we didn't want to make a big deal out of it. Instead we just waited to see how things played out as she grew... if she truly understood or would even remember, etc. But as strong-willed as she is, she is also very sensitive to the things of the Lord. When we talk to her about something she needs to work on (such as talking respectfully, being kind to her siblings, etc.), she might not like it at the time, but later we see her really trying, and that's neat to see.

 Rebekah is as exuberant as ever! She loves life and gets excited easily... very visibly excited. =) We love our sweet girl and are so very thankful for the six years we have had with her so far!