FOURTEEN!!!

 I can't seem to wrap my mind around how quickly my girls are growing! How is our beautiful Buggy 14 already?! That is getting way to close to 18 for this Mama! 

Buggy has blossomed into a young woman this year. She has changed SO much, and is so grown up these days. She almost has me beat for height and I'm just waiting for the day she passes me up...or maybe we'll end up the same?

This year has looked very different for us due to Covid. There was no dance, and no sports to attend. Buggy has filled her time with church activities. She has spent the whole school year volunteering her time in the Cubbie room one night a week and then she goes to her own Awana on another night. She also joined Youth Leadership this year, a discipleship program in our church, and she spends a different evening every other week at church for that. They have done a few service projects as well like a Parents Night Out where they babysat for all the church parents, and decorating the town Gazebo for Christmas. She also goes to youth group, and loves getting to hang out with all her friends. We are thankful she has good Christian friends!

Buggy has been a huge help here at home this year as we've gone through the final push to get the house finished. She babysits for hours on the weekends and is very good at keeping the little ones entertained. They love playing with her!

School has taken up a lot more of her time this year as she gets into some more challenging subjects like Algebra. She took a placement test and was able to bypass 8th grade math and take 9th grade Algebra. It has taken a lot of time though and she can spend hours on it every day. I'm no help because I remember absolutely nothing from it, so she often has to wait for Daddy to get home to help her. Otherwise she is doing pretty well with her subjects. She is bright enough to skim by with the bare minimum and still pull decent grades so we are working on self-motivation. :)  

We had originally planned that she would go to the local Christian school for all of High School but she has decided to stay home for one more year. The time commitment was the biggest deciding factor. Between school and the drive we were looking at her being gone for 8 hours a day, and if she did sports it would be 10! We are definitely not sad to have another year with her at home and have that time back! Especially since we are at church 3-4 nights a week with all our various activities.

Bug continues to bake and cook amazing foods that are quickly eaten by the rest of her grateful family. :) She is working on her birthday cake as I type! 

Her drawing abilities continue to amaze and astound us. She did a series of dance pictures and then framed them and gave them to her dance teachers. A lady from church saw them and asked to buy one from her for her daughter who used to do ballet.

 Buggy also did the cover art for the Easter Sunday bulletin at church! We are so proud of her amazing talent!

Here is her birthday interview:

1. Favorite color: gray or blue

2. Favorite toy: Legos? Sure

3. Favorite fruit: Grapes

4. Favorite TV show: I don't know.

5. Favorite lunch: nachos

6. Favorite outfit: sweatshirt and shorts

7. Favorite game: chase with siblings

8. Favorite snack: candy I guess?

9. Favorite animal: I don't know

10. Favorite song: I don't know

11. Favorite book: The Ateban Cipher Mystery

12. Your best friend: Ellie, Noah, Faith, Julia

13. Favorite Cereal: pancake cereal

14. Favorite thing to do outside: take pictures? That was fun

15. Favorite drink: Lemonade

16. Favorite holiday: Christmas

17. Favorite breakfast: pancake cereal

18. What do you like to take to bed: blankets

19. What do you want to be when you grow up: photographer

20. What do you want for your birthday dinner? pizza

 

To my dear, sweet Buggy girl,

 

Happy 14th birthday! I am trying to cherish each one and not look at the dwindling number we have left before you leave our household and go off into the world. I know you are going to do amazing things for God, but this Mama's heart is definitely not ready for that day! It is so much fun to watch you growing and changing into the woman that He created you to be.

 

You are amazing my sweet girl. You are thoughtful and kind, silly and oh so much fun! I love hanging out with you. You are witty and always ready with a comment to make us laugh. Everything is more fun when you are around, and it is fun to get glimpses of how you will be as an adult. They are coming through more and more these days, and while I am sad that my little girl is gone, I am having a lot of fun with the beautiful woman that is taking her place! 

You have done so well in the past year and have really been flexible and understanding when one thing after another ended up Covid-cancelled. While I am sad that we missed out on those things (especially getting to watch you dance) I am thankful for the extra family time we had this year and all the fun movie/sports/game nights we've had. 

I love you so much sweet girl. You are such a blessing to our family and I thank God for you every day. I am looking forward to seeing what new things God does in your life this year! It is so wonderful to watch you letting Him guide you. Never forget that He has an amazing plan for your life and will use you for great things if you only let Him. You are doing a great job of that so far and we love watching you use your talents to serve Him. Keep seeking Him first and you'll never go wrong. I love you more than I could ever say! Happy birthday!

 

Love, Mommy