We have a teenager!!!!

I can't believe Lily is 13!!!!!    For her birthday she opted for a gift rather than a party.  She got her very own laptop computer!  I think she had a great day celebrating with her friends at school and soccer.  I posted a little tribute to her on Facebook and some of the comments were just so dear to me!

Don't like it when she's this sick

The last week has been a tough one.  Lily came home last week complaining of ear pain.  Usually, I am not one to run to the doctor but she had her final mandatory swim meet that weekend and I wanted to make sure everything was okay.  They diagnosed her with swimmer's ear and basically told her to stay out of the water after her swim meet.  After her swim meet her pain increased significantly.  It was so hard to see her in so much discomfort and not be able to do anything about it.  We have since gone back to doctors twice.  She is now on an oral antibiotic and I am hoping that takes care of it.  But man, I hate it when they are this sick:(

My little homebody

Unlike her mama, Lily loves her time at home!  She just spent 3 days without leaving the house and she was perfectly happy! 

Lily had an improved 2nd Quarter at school.

She has had a great swimming season.  Her finals are this weekend!

She is a night owl who comes alive after 9 pm!

She's been taking on more responsibility at home, doing her own laundry when needed, and learning to cook and bake.

I love how she seems so comfortable in her own skin!

Likeable Lily

I have pondered what on earth I would write for Lily for January.  It has felt like the month has whizzed by with lots of activities, but nothing meaningful has really stuck out!  We've been hiking.  She swam in the snow in just a bathing suit, like a crazy person.  She has been a voracious reader, reading several book series she had gotten for Christmas, and a good friend to everyone  She is very likable and seems to get along with everyone!  I adore that about her!!! Now if she would just stop huffing and rolling her eyes at me:)

New Year's Day Hike

She's never been more beautiful

Lily has always been a beautiful child both inside and out, but this week, I saw her inner beauty in a way I never had before.  As I mentioned earlier in the week our family pastor had been battling terminal Alzheimers and had been declining rapidly.  She had wanted to say goodbye to him, but when she saw the videos and images of him she didn't think she could handle it.  Fast forward to a few days later, when we received notice that Pastor Mark was no longer able to get out of bed or sit in a chair and was being moved to Hospice at the Kline hospice house in Mt. Airy.  I told Lily if she wanted to say goodbye this was the time.  She said, "Mommy he came to me in the hospital when I needed him (sledding accident), I want to be there for him".  And so we went.  She was amazing, a true picture of beauty!  I felt like he knew we were there, as he grabbed our hands and held them.  A treasured memory.  Rest in Peace Pastor Mark Vandeermeer, our family is grateful for your ministry!

Hard Stuff

Age 12 has been chock full of real-life hard stuff!  School has gotten more challenging and more demanding, Lily is having to learn a lot of grown-up things such as time management, electing to engage even when she doesn't want to, and advocating for herself!  These have been tough lessons to learn and sometimes I feel like we cattle prod her too much sometimes, but if she can master these we know she will be very successful in her life! On a more difficult note, last night we shared with Lily that her beloved Pastor Mark, is even more sick than we had expected.  They have called in Hospice and they are not sure if he will even make it to Christmas.  When we told her she cried and cried and cried.  It was heartbreaking, not being able to fix it for her.  Originally she had wanted to visit him as he has been living in an assisted living place specializing in full-time care for Alzheimer's patients.  However, when we showed her pictures of his gaunt appearance and videos of his weakness and repetitive behaviors, she decided that perhaps she wasn't quite ready for that.  Sometimes life is really tough.

Bragging

Not to brag or anything but we have hit the stage where I can make Lily angry or annoyed simply by breathing!  I was so hoping we wouldn't have this stage, but no such luck!