...is 6 years of pure joy

Kendall Athalee Lee
A.K.A.: Kendall Bendall

Born February 23, 2005

Dear Kendall, 

You are such a joy in our lives. You are certainly one of God's sweetest gifts to us. You love to hear stories about your life, so in this 'ode to Kendall' I will attempt to script 'short-stories' of how I see you. 

I will never forget the day we found out that I was pregnant. Your daddy had just come home from a 2-week mission trip and the first thing he asked me was if I was pregnant. I thought he had gone delirious from lack of sleep or something. But, he would not budge until I took a test and lo and behold, I was! God had given him a promise that He would bring life into our lives and He was true to His word. 

one day old

You were such a sweet baby. I will always cherish our late nights together when no one was awake but us as I fed you, prayed over you, and rocked you to sleep. I loved waking up to your sweet voice cooing in the crib...you'd hang out in there for nearly an hour before you were ready to eat or get out. You were and are a tenacious little thing, loyal to whatever has your affection (i.e, buddy) and never giving up when you set your mind on something.

10 months old

You melt our hearts with your baby blues and lips that women pay thousands of dollars to have. You are not afraid to be unique and speak your mind. I like that about you. And, you have a style of your own, which you are very proud of. Take for instance the 'florescent' green wedges that you would wear every single day even though they terribly clash with just about everything or the gaudy headband that has a huge flower on the side, originally made for a halloween costume, that you love to accessorize with. You turn these things into works of art and proudly wear them. You have even began telling me as of late: "Mom, not everything has to match." I am learning to let you go with it!

I'm pretty sure you wore the green shoes with this outfit to school! (that skirt is teal, BTW)

You also entertain us all the time with your drama-(tic) skills. As early as I remember, you have loved to 'dress-up' as and literally become a princess (or fashionista diva) complete with lip-gloss and all the accessories you could find. There is rarely a dull moment and I am so glad. You add color to our world.

mommy's make-up is not so glamorous.

Snow White waiting for Prince Charming to awaken her with a kiss.
Notice ALL the accessories: head-band, necklace, gloves, purse, shoes,  & I'm sure some lip-gloss.

You are smart, imaginative, and keenly aware. In your words, you have a big mind with big thoughts. You blow me away with your insight at such a young age. Just the other day you described to me how your brain is like a remote control. You said: "Sometimes I see scary stuff in my head and when I do, I just push the stop button. Then I change the channel to see God or spy kids and I'm no so scared" while you acted it out. (This is going in my 'counselor's handbook' of illustrations!) 

When you were 2 years old I remember trying to teach you the concept of grace. You were potty training and each time you would go 'poo-poo' we gave you a chocolate kiss. Well, one morning you ran to the potty and pee-pee'd and being so proud of yourself thought you deserved a 'kiss'. I told you that to earn a 'kiss' you had to go 'poo-poo' but I wanted to give you grace so I gave you a 'kiss' anyway. So, the next day when you 'earned' your 'kiss' I heard you say as you walked out of the bathroom: "This is grace. I'm eating grace." 

When you were about 4 years old you told me one day that God talked to you. I asked you what He was saying and you said: "He just called my name. At first it was scary...I didn't know who it was, but then I knew it was God. He just said Kendall." You finished our discussion with this: "It's cool that God knows my name."

You are so loving and helpful. You seem to have a good balance between being a leader and being a servant. You are aware of others and are a faithful and thoughtful friend. You've always been 'about the people'. You are a great big sister and show your love to your little sister by taking her under your wing. You don't like her, or anyone, to feel left-out. She is your constant pal. You have a life-time friend you adore that you've known since you were born. You girls have shared many 'firsts': first dress-up party, PJ party, and girlfriend date at Starbucks. And, some of your favorite people are 'cousins' as you call them. You and Caleb make great super-heros, while you and Haley make great little mommies. And you like to wrestle with Hannah.

Kendall (5) and Jordan (3)
Sisters, friends, playmates, princesses

Lily Kate (51/2) and Kendall (6)
"Two are better than one for when one falls down the other can help her up."

Hannah (10), Kendall (5), Haley(7), Caleb (4)
'Cousins': a title of honor assigned with great sincerity, awe and affection

You are one of the most giving and thoughtful girls I know. One day while you were taking a bath we had this conversation: 

Kendall: "Momma, did you know that there are babies in China that no one wants?"

Mom: "Yes, there are."

Kendall: "When I get older, I'm going to get me one of those babies that no one else wants and love it."

Mom: "That's a wonderful idea. You would be a great mommy to that baby."

One day I overheard you in your room playing with your baby dolls praying: "God, bless my baby."

And for your birthday this year, your earnest desire was to cut your long hair so that a sick child might have it. I am inspired by you all the time and I thank God for giving us you. 

Before hair-cut

After hair-cut

You write so many of the sweet stories in our lives by the way you live, love, think, and give. I write these stories on my heart and am forever changed by them. My prayer and hope for you is that you continue to love boldly, give freely, walk uniquely, and think deeply as you learn to be YOU. And always remember that God knows your name and calls you to HIM. I love you, Kendall Bendall.