Happy 11th Birthday Mary Dalton!

I cannot believe you are 11 today! That seems so old to me!!! It's so hard to believe we have had you WITH us longer than we have left ~ you will be going off to college in 7 short years! Time is flying by!

It seems like just yesterday you were born!

This year has been a great one for you but one of adjustments, too!

You did not have a "great" year in fourth grade...there were a lot of tears cried (from us both!) and LOTS of life lessons you had to learn about hard work, disappointment, and friendships. I was amazed at how you handled EVERY situation with such maturity.

I would say that 99% of the time you are happy as you can be! But that 1% is when you better LOOK OUT! ha! Seriously...you love life and make the most of everyday by staying up as late as possible and getting up with the chickens! :)

At 11 you are still VERY girly!!! I LOVE it! Gone are the days of appliques and smocked dresses, but you can STILL rock a XL hairbow like a champ!!!

My FAVORITE thing about you is that you TRULY march to the beat of your own drum! You are rarely influenced by others and you really don't care what "everybody else is doing" because you have TONS of confidence! I hope you always keep that trait!

You have some sweet and precious friends! You and Marti Ann have gotten to be super tight ~ you call her your "ride or die friend" Yall are together a lot because of dance and I LOVE that you have such a sweet and honest friendship. I pray that you will ALWAYS have one friend that you can count on no matter what...and I think MA fits the bill! ;)

As girly as you are...you aren't afraid to get dirty with the boys...it doesn't happen often...but you can do it if need be! ;) You and Jackson argue/disagree more now than ever...but you both adore each other still...even though I am CERTAIN you would disagree.

You are still dancing and shine on the stage like a doll! I love to watch you perform and watch that confidence shine through! It's obvious when I watch you dance that you LOVE it! You have made many new friends at dance and you adore your teachers...especially Miss Mel!

You are truly the little girl I ALWAYS dreamed of having! You make me SO proud and I am so blessed that God chose me to be your mother! I pray that this year is the best yet! I pray that this is the year that you ask Jesus to come into your heart. I pray that you are blessed with good health and that God puts his hands over you constantly and protects you from harm and evil.  I pray that you have a great school year, you learn from your mistakes, you encourage others, and you lead by example!

You will ALWAYS make me proud to me your mama!

You may not be perfect but you are PERFECT to me!!!

Happy birthday sweet girl!

I love you SO much!

Mama