2015 Daily December 23--an adult

I am officially the mother of an 18 year-old adult.  Gulp.  When did that happen?

Sure love this amazing girl of mine, and all she has become.  So excited to see what the future holds for her because I know it will be good.  I am so grateful to a Heavenly Father who trusted her to us and had her bless our lives each and every day these last 18 years.  Sure love you Miss A!

A birthday

So my oldest child turned 17 this week.  17!!!!  SEVENTEEN!!! How in the world did she get that old?  I am certainly way to young to have a 17 year old!  But considering our 19th wedding anniversary is tomorrow, I guess it works, but man alive, where did the time go?

She is an absolutely amazing young woman who I admire so much.  She didn't want a cake for her birthday, she wanted an ice cream buffet, so we got eggnog, gingerbread, pumpkin, hot chocolate and grape sherbet ice cream for her "cake" to celebrate.  She has a scoop of each in her bowl with a candle on top.   

She got these cute new boots and coat.  She is such a hard worker, so kind, considerate and major talented--she sings, plays the piano and French horn and is so smart.  She blesses my life everyday, and I admire her strength and courage.  Sure love you Miss A!  What a blessing you are in my life!  

2013 Daily December 23--16 candles

Sweet Sixteen

From 6 to 

16.

And what an amazing young woman she is! 

Miss A is so thoughtful

so sensitive to others and their feelings

she is very dedicated

a very hard worker

she cares

she loves

she has a beautiful singing voice

plays the piano amazingly

has a strong faith

she believes and lives her life accordingly

super smart

she very seldom cleans her room, but other than that she is pretty much perfect :)

Happy Birthday Miss A!!!  How lucky we are to have you in our family! 

We love you!!

Daily December 27: Blue Jeans Week 49

What a week, what a week--you prepare and prepare for this time of year and it goes so quickly, but we enjoyed it.  I hope you did too.

Sunday:  Before Church we had a little bit of quiet time, and Mr J read to Miss E.  Yes, my kids fight like cats and dogs, but every once in a while they get a long, and we have some nice peace.  I try to get pictures of those moments so I can remember them amidst the cat and dog fights :)

Monday:  Christmas goodie plates--got them ready and delivered

Tuesday:  School Christmas program.  Miss E is in the middle black and white dress playing the alto recorder.  I am so grateful that my kids go to a public school and they can sing "Silent Night," "Away in a manger," and talk about the real meaning of Christmas-- their classrooms have a nativity set in them.  I count that a blessing of living in a small town.

Wednesday:  We made big, soft gingerbread men cookies tonight--a favorite Christmas tradition

Thursday:   Around Christmas we always like to go up to the big city for a night to see the lights and spend a night in a hotel with an indoor pool--another fun Christmas tradition

Friday:  Miss A's birthday and her cake.  It is a tradition at our house that the birthday kid gets to decorate their own cake.  My kids love doing that.  They get to do it with their Dad.

Friday picture #2: Another Christmas tradition is the kids always get to sleep by the Christmas tree the night of the 23rd.

Separate posts for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day--how can you possibly have only one picture for those days? :)

Daily December 23

This little one-year-old angel isn't so little anymore. (thanks for the picture Whitney B!)

She is now 14!!!  And still an angel :)

Sure love you Miss A!  Happy Birthday this week!

I am offically the mother of a teenager!

 Christmas break was a busy time here, and I am sure it was at your house too.  It was extra busy here because we had a birthday party, and I officially became the mother to a teenage girl.  Oh. my.  Never really thought this day would come, but it did and much quicker than I ever imagined.  Sometimes time seems to never pass and others it seems to fly like the wind. 

These last 13 years have flown like the wind, and this beautiful girl turned 13.  Love her to death.  She is amazing.  I don't know what I would do without her. 

This year was her year for a "friend" party.  I have a strict formula when it comes to my kids and friend parties.  They get their first "friend" party when they are 5 and then every other year, always on odd birthdays.  The even ones are just family parties.  This method keeps me sane when it comes to birthday parties (sort of), so for this friend party we had seven 13 year old girls in my kitchen decorating gingerbread houses.  What a mess!  I thought I was smart doing this with 13 year olds versus 5 year olds.  But honestly I don't think the 5 year olds could have been any more messy, but we just hosed down the kitchen when they were done, and life is good (just a bit sticky in places that we missed).  So maybe that is the first lesson I've learned as a mother of a teenager--13 year olds are just as messy as 5 year olds.

 

She got a bike for her birthday.  One of the disadvantages of having a birthday 2 days before Christmas is you get everything at one time during the year, even things you really can't use during this time of the year--like this bike that she has only ridden 2 times because it is so cold!  She will appreciate it better in about 5 months, though :)

Happy 12th Birthday Miss A!!

We had a wonderful Christmas, and I will post pictures of that soon, but right before Christmas we had a birthday at our house. My oldest turned 12!!! For some reason the even numbered years seem the hardest, I didn't have a problem with 3,5,7,9, or 11, but 2,4,6,8, 10, and (gulp) 12 seem really hard! Why is that? Anyway, she is such a good girl, and she had a great birthday, and it was extra special to have an aunt, uncle and 2 cousins here to help celebrate. Miss A is such a blessing in my life--she is a straight A 6th grader in the middle school, she is an awesome babysitter, and she tries so hard to choose the right. She is an example to me as she reads her scriptures every night and trys to be like Jesus. I am so blessed to have a daughter like her! Happy Birthday Miss A! I love you!

On their birthdays the kids get to pick where they want to eat for dinner. Miss A picked Pizza Hut. Yum!

Miss A's birthday is the 23rd, and we have the tradition that on that night everyone can sleep down by the Christmas tree.

Ben always does the birthday cakes with the kids. He and Miss A designed this one. Pretty cool, huh? That's my girl.

Everyone eating at Pizza Hut for Miss A's 12th birthday.