Pre-teen milestone

Well, for Christmas Lily received the gift she so desperately wanted but didn't think she would receive.  Thanks to our friend Chris Henry and her Daddy, we decided it was time for her to get her own cell phone.  She was super surprised and super excited!

The look of surprise!

We adore Lily's teacher

Lily has been blessed with some amazing teachers over the years.  Ms. Mosquera (aka Ms. Hill) has been no exception!  Today she sent Lily this card in the "real mail" addressed to her personally.   My favorite lines are "Lily, I feel so lucky to be your teacher.  I love watching you each day, gracefully going about your day, respecting everyone and everyone around you. I've learned a lot by watching you!  I know you will continue to soar over the years.  I can't wait to see what you become and how you give to the world!"

Needless to say, this Mama is speechless!

Sassy and Smart

I have a new nickname for Lily Bean...."Octopus"  The reason for this nickname is that this child has no sense of personal space when it comes to her mama.  She is all over me all the time.  I am sitting on the couch with lots of space for her to sit, but she must sit right on top of me always!  Lily has been a little sassy and spicy lately.  We have to remind ourselves to take a deep breath and pray that "this too shall pass"  I guess it's a good thing she is asserting her independence, but man, sometimes.....

Lily is really a bright young lady.  She is a good problem solver and knows all kinds of do-it-yourself hacks!  For example, we were setting up the Christmas tree yesterday and I couldn't get the angel on the tree because of the new lighting we purchased.  I tried one strategy but it didn't work.  Lily took one look at the angel and made a suggestion for how we could solve the problem and wa-la problem solved.  The other day I was trying to sew using the sewing machine and she totally schooled me!  She also appears to be quite responsible at school for her schoolwork.  We are really blessed!

Yesterday after Olav and I set up the tree and I put on the lights, Lily went on to decorate the entire tree herself.  She did an amazing job as shown below!