Fourteen!!

 I can't believe our little Boo Bear is a grown up 14! She truly is a young woman now: beautiful, smart, independent, responsible. It's bittersweet to watch your little girl turn into a woman but we are so proud of her and who she is becoming. 

Boo has had a lot of changes this year...the biggest being that she is now in a traditional school full time! She made the transition with incredible ease. She fits right in at school, is popular with both students and teachers, and is pulling straight A's despite her hectic sports schedule. 

Since the first day of school started she has been enrolled in a sport, and at one point two! She played on the high school team for volleyball, mostly on JV but in a few Varsity games as well. Then she rolled right into middle school volleyball which overlapped with high school basketball for a few weeks. She did really well learning to play volleyball, but basketball is definitely her sport! She is right up there with the high school girls and has started in quite a few games. It will be fun to watch her skills grow over the next four years! High school basketball will be over in a few weeks and then she moves on to middle school basketball which she has already been practicing with for weeks. They practice during 7th period PE so with high school practice right after school she gets three hours of basketball a day!

In addition to all the sports practice she also has been keeping up with her piano lessons, AWANA, drama club, and discipleship program. It has been a BUSY couple of months but she is thriving. She does have her limit and some days she just needs to take her little introvert self up to her room and shut the door to recharge, but she is really good about knowing her limits and taking care of her needs. 

Speaking of drama club...last year she did an AMAZING job playing Heidi! It was so much fun to watch her! They just did auditions and casting and she originally wanted to just do a very small part, since she is so worn out from sports, but Ms D talked her into a bigger part. She will be playing Mrs. Grimble in the upcoming production and I'm hopeful that since basketball will soon be over she will be able to slow down and bit and not be overwhelmed with all the added drama practices. I'm already looking forward to seeing her in the new play! 

I have been so proud of Boo at AWANA! She has really stepped up and is actually leading her own group of T&T girls! The director said she does really well with them so she has just let her take over and lead them on her own! It's kind of a full circle moment as her first exposure to AWANA was when she was a baby and I was helping with T&T girls and would carry her around all night in the hiking backpack. It is so neat to see her leading her own group of girls now!

She continues to be a hard worker and is quick to volunteer to help Daddy with weekend projects. She will stick with him for hours and is very adept with all of the tools. A couple of weekends ago he taught her how to stain the wood beams he was working on. She has built up quite an arsenal of skills as we've worked on and built this house.

Here is her birthday interview:

1. Favorite color: yellow
2. Favorite toy: puzzles
3. Favorite fruit: strawberries
4. Favorite TV show: Percy Jackson and the Olympians
5. Favorite lunch: homemade macaroni and cheese
6. Favorite outfit: just jeans and a sweatshirt
7. Favorite game: Catan
8. Favorite snack: Cheeseits
9. Favorite animal: Owls
10. Favorite song: Speak Life by Toby Mac
11. Favorite book: Percy Jackson and the Olympians
12. Your best friend: Rebecca 
13. Favorite Cereal: Honey Nut Cheerios
14. Favorite thing to do outside: play basketball
15. Favorite drink: Henry Weinhard's rootbeer
16. Favorite holiday: Christmas
17. Favorite breakfast: Blueberry bread
18. What do you like to take to bed: Ruff Ruff, my little pink dog
19. What do you want to be when you grow up: I don't know I want to do something in business
20. What do you want for your birthday dinner? Texas Roadhouse

Dear Boo Bear,

Happy birthday beautiful girl! I really can't believe that you are already fourteen. You have grown into such an amazing young woman, and I am so incredibly proud you. Being your mom has been the most amazing blessing and while I am sad to see your childhood coming to an end I am also excited about all the possibilities for your future. I know that with your great attitude, hard work ethic, diligence, responsibility, and perseverance that you are going to do amazing things. Keep following after God and He will give you the desires of your heart. 

I have loved watching you this grow this year. Whether on the stage, on the court, playing the piano in front of the church, or even just hanging out with your friends, you are just so fun to watch. You are talented in so many different areas. You are so smart, great at sports, music, theater, and so much more. You are such a fun person to be around and I love spending time with you. 

Thank you for all that you do. You are such a blessing to our family. I can always count on you to get things done, and I am also thankful for your clean-gene that allows me to come home to a clean kitchen on those days when you are actually home for longer than ten minutes at a time. :P Daddy and I are so proud of the woman you are becoming. We love you more than we could ever say. Thanks for being you. I hope you have a happy birthday and an even happier year!

Love, Momma