Tziporah Elizabeth Dopp

Tziporah is pure entertainment.  I don't think a second goes by without me being excessively grateful she is here.  She is hilarious and adorable.  And it's so much fun to parent a two-year-old when you're not concerned about milestones and achievements and setbacks.  She just is who she is and she acts how she acts, and it's all just fine with us!  She might not turn out, but again...I don't care.  I just love her!  I'm so glad she was the last child.  If I had had a child this strong-willed first, when I was all hopped up on parenting books and peer comparisons, I might have crushed her little spirit with the "naughty step," or whatever the parenting craze du jour was.  The way I remember it, Golda and Ruby were perfect, compliant little angels,, thank heavens.

 Tziporah is pretty confident.  "I needa do my homework SO BAD.  Now, how-a spell e-menno-p?"

Getting ready for her ballet recital.  Could she be any cuter?

It's been delightful having Tziporah and her cousin Jersey in dance together.  I am so glad Clint's mom has this class for the tiny ones, because there is nothing cuter than these little bodies in dance clothes.  Tziporah relished the spotlight.

She took time out of the routine to give Scott a thumbs-up, just letting Daddy know that she had all the moves down.

It's so enjoyable whenever we have an event that we can attend with Grandma and Grandpa.  I think their faces were lit up the whole time.

The girls just love Jean.  She is a wonderful teacher for them.

I think this was our last night at Scary Hill.  We have been there several times a week this month, just to relax and ride the tractor ride, maybe do some mini golf and trampolines.  Ptolemy was obsessed.  That last night, they all had costumes on.  This mouse and her magic wand stole the show.

And she knew it, too.

We were taking pictures for Bill's lifetime achievement award ceremony that's coming up.  Bill wanted to submit a photo of himself with the mask on.  He actually sent it to the lawyer in charge of the program and told him to choose between the mask pic and the more professional one.  I think this one with Tziporah in it would work too!

In terms of lifetime achievement, Tziporah hasn't had much time yet to make an impact, and yet she has.  From the first exhilarating, thrilling, shocking moment that I found out she was a reality, and even before that, she has had a very strong presence in our family.  Tziporah reminds me how thankful I am to have each one of our children.  The others are older and so complex, so individual.  Each day, I hope and strive for their success in a thousand ways.  It's easy to lose clarity and get mired in the details, but then I look into Tziporah's innocent little face and remember that each of our kids has a pure, beautiful soul inside, and that's the part of them that really matters.  These are God's children.  Somehow, that affection for them and that clarity about their infinite worth translates to everyone I know, and I understand that we're all operating with the best intentions.

Is this Tziporah's gift to me?  Maybe.  Whatever.  I'm just so happy all seven of them are here.