Happy birthday, Princess!

"My son (daughter), give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways..." Proverbs 23:26

Good morning, friends!

When I first proposed to my family that I would be starting a blog, they were on the whole very encouraging and supportive.  My daughter, however, was a little more apprehensive.  Her first question:

"You're not going to write about us, are you?"

To set my daughter's fears at rest, I reassured her that the blog was about ME, and not them, and she was fine with that.

Well, today, with her permission, I am breaking my own rules.

Because today I have a beautiful, funny, talented daughter who is turning 14.  Yes, 14.  1-4.  I never thought we'd make it.  I never thought SHE would make it...um, never mind.  

How is that the days are so long, the nights even longer at times, but the years are so short?

Since my daughter is turning 14 today, I want to share 14 things about her that make me SMILE.  

1.  Her smile.  Yes, there were the brace-face years, but they are behind us now.  I love to see her smile.

2.  Her laugh.  Her laugh is very contageous, and very spontaneous.  Think washing machine.

3.  Her sense of humor.  My daughter has a quick mind, a quick study of human silliness and so a sharp wit.  (She gets that from her dad.)

4.  Her beauty.  My friend's mom says that soon I'll have to walk her around with a paper bag on her head.  Or maybe a veil.  We'll see which one is more readily accessible, or which one allows her to breathe.

5.  Her poise.  My daughter is so much more put together at age 14 than I ever was.  She is very graceful, especially under pressure.

6.  Her soft spot for anything fuzzy, usually one of our five cats.  Or stuffed animals with googly eyes.

7.  Her talents.  My daughter is very creative.  She works well with her hands, whether painting, crafting her clay figures, drawing, or designing those little rubber band things that are the nightmare to my vacuum cleaner.  

8.  Her cooking skills! OK, I may have had a SMALL part in that, but can I tell you how nice it is to leave instructions for a meal or a dessert and come back to eat one of her creations?  Anything that I don't have to cook is good food, indeed.

9.  Her love for her brothers.  YES, there have been the times that I thought WWIII was taking place upstairs, but she is a very loyal sister, and very creative with her brothers and inventing new games for them to play together.

10.  Her voice.  My daughter has a lovely singing voice!  I love to listen to her sing.

11.  Her fashion sense.  OK, so maybe the mismatched sock thing is a little too 1980's Punky Brewster for me, but she is always modest.  And fun.

12.  Her tender heart.  She hates to see others' hurt.  Maybe a little less when it's one of her brothers who have been annoying her, but you get the point.

13.  Her blush. I'm glad that my daughter can blush at things that are inappropriate.  I pray she never loses that.

14.  Most of all, her love for the Lord makes me SMILE.  I smile when I hear her teach the Tuesday night Bible study for her brothers and our coworker's children.  I love to hear her pray.

I can't wait to see all the special blessings God has in store for this beautiful young lady!  We love our Ju-Ju!