Princess Christina

Christina is the jelly of our family PB&J sandwich; she is the sweet sticky filling that makes the sandwich irresistable and helps hold it together. She is always making things for others, giving things away, and sharing. She nearly always has a beautiful smile lighting up her already pretty face. Any visitors are bound to have her sidle up to them and make them feel welcome. In addition to hugs and cuddles, she makes sure that they are offered something to drink, or whatever else she feels they may be in need of. She is also usually the first to welcome most new families to the neighborhood with younger kids. (Her parents have to keep a constant eye on their precious, unabashed, and impromptu wanderer though!)

Some of Christina's favorite activities are: playing with friends, crafts, painting, drawing, writing songs or stories, talking, and exploring the wonders of nature. Much like her mother, she loves animals, flowers, trees, rocks, and so on. She also loves clothes, shoes, and anything girlish.

Christina's favorite movies are the typical Disney princess style stories, though she's moved on to the slightly older, non-cartoonish story lines lately. (Stuff like Princess Diaries, Aquamarine, Ever-After and so on.) She also loves to watch the Harry Potter movies, as she thinks Hermione is the best. Her favorite books are The Tiara Club series, in which she claims to be learning how to behave like a proper princess. Her favorite foods are salad (especially with feta cheese and balsamic vinaigrette), pizza, and pasta, and much more.

Additional talents with which Christina has been blessed are: gymnastic abilities, singing, dancing, an eye for beautiful picture making, and a creative mind with which she invents her own amazing craft items. She is also a natural babysitter in the making, as she enjoys changing diapers (the non-nasty type of course), feeding, and entertaining the 2 young children that her mother watches every weekday.

Sadly, Christina has also had some difficult trials through which she has had to work these past few years, and from which she will likely continue to struggle with for years to come. She's a trooper though, full of optimism and determination to turn her Dyslexia into a stepping stool. What a relief it has been for her to know that there is nothing wrong with her and that she just needed to be taught how to read in a different way than most kids. Now she is in a wonderful, highly successful reading program which is helping her retrain her own mind. She finds it encouraging to know that many successful people (such as Tom Cruise) struggled with and overcame Dyslexia.

In addition to Dyslexia, Christina's parents and teachers are fairly sure that she may be suffering from ADHD as well, though she hasn't gone in to get an official diagnosis yet. For now her parents have been trying different lifestyle and dietary changes rather than seeking the aid of the often pill dispensing professionals. They are also trying different teaching and reward methods to see if any of those prove effective. So far Christina has been very patient and forgiving of other's frustration with her when she has a hard time staying on task. Once again, Christina has proven to be a loving trooper who finds hope and relief in knowing that both the brilliant minds of Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein were able to prosper in life despite having ADHD. Who knows the wonderful things she will do with such a creative mind and giving heart!