Hello Ruth,

Happy Valentine's Day.  You are starting to get so much older and more mature now.  But you still believe in Santa Claus, the Tooth Faerie, and the Elf on the Shelf.  You still have the whimsical belief in things like faeries and magic.

Well, we have gone through most of another school year.  You and Britt are sharing 3rd grade, I think, maybe.  As you can tell the older you get, the more involved and difficult the school work becomes.  You know have more difficult words reading, you are learning to spell, and that you are doing a higher level of math.  We also have started some speech classes to help you pronounce words better.  The only problem is that Momma has to take you to the local elementary school every Wednesday, right before they let out school.  Momma always feels a bit rushed trying to get in and out.  At first you didn't want to do the speech class.  I tried to encourage you to let you know, that they make speech class real interesting and fun, one on one, or with a few others.  Britt and you seem to have really enjoyed listening to the Harry Potter series as well.  In fact, you are on the very last audiobook of the series.

You are now starting your first year of actual softball, and a co-worker of mine is your coach.  You went on at length yesterday afternoon after your first practice about how he is the best coach.  Hopefully this will give you the opportunity to meet girls your age and make friends other than just your homeschool friends that we spend lots of time with.  Also, I hope this gives you a chance to grow more athletic.  Where you can enjoy doing fun things outside like riding your bike, climbing trees, and playing softball.  These are all good types of fun exercise, that help you to grow stronger each day.  You've really improved riding your bike this year.

We've added some other extracurricular activities as well this year.  We have 4-H:  where you have a sewing club and pig co.  We are looking at the possibility of you showing a pig at the county fair here next year.  You've also joined GEMS club, which gives you the opportunity to do arts and crafts and meet other girls your age.  One bright spot has been with our homeschool families in this area.  You have found a good friend in Tilly.  You seem to get along and enjoy each other, spending time playing the same games, and having the same likes.

You seem to enjoy helping Momma with Kate, and helping take on a few more responsibilities around the house.  You help alot by feeding Kate her baby food.  You've even helped change a diaper or two.  I want to encourage you to continue to be more helpful and resourceful around the house.  Especially with Momma teaching three children, it helps her to have less stress about the house.

Ruth, what I want you to grow in, is to be more studious with your school work, with your other activities like softball and 4-H.  I want you to really invest more time and effort into learning.  I believe that not only are you capable of doing these things, but of really thriving and enjoying the fruits of your labor.  But just like life, not all things are fair, but being studious and pushing yourself you can really grow.  One thing about being studious, is that you never stop learning, and in some ways it's like an investment.  The time and hard work that you put in now, will really pay off tomorrow and in many years to come.

Love you, Ruth,
Daddy

PS - Can I get rid of the cat now?