Happy 14th Birthday Kiara!

Happy Happy Birthday Kiara!

Today you turn 14. At your last parent-teacher conference your teacher told us you were "the sunshine of the 8th grade class". I couldn't agree more. You have the ability to make people laugh, to be caring, loving and kind. There are not enough words to explain how much I LOVE having a girl. Especially you! It is so fun to talk with you about Jesus, miracles, boys, friends, family and the world. I love shopping till we drop, to find the perfect dress or item for your room. I appreciate your cooking skills. It helps me so much when you make dinner, our famous punch bowl cake, or help me with church potluck. This year you have done the weekly cleaning of our house to help pay for your rather large cell phone bills. I am a litle sad that you are all paid up, as it was so nice to come home to a clean house. You even went the extra mile and set a beautiful table. However, I am proud of you for being so careful now not to run up a bill. I am also proud of you for working hard to get good grades. This quarter you got all A's except one B which was the goal you set for yourself. You did this all on your own, even looking up "how to get good grades" on the computer. A lot of times your grades are more than 100 percent because you did extra credit. The reason these things mean so much to me is that you are growing up in the right direction. You are choosing paths that with Jesus guidance, will give you more chances of a happy, successful life.

I am so glad you have your own beliefs about what you want in life, and that when you feel strongly about something, you hold your ground. To me this means you will not be "influenced for wrong" on the things you have made decisions on. This is important because the "pull" to be like the world is so strong. Your favorite colors are light pink and dark brown. You wanted to paint your room and dresser in your favorite colors, so you paid for almost all the paint and did 99 percent of the work yourself. You moved everything out of your room, including your mattress and box springs. You taped up the window, removed the outlets, covered the floor and painted everything you could reach. You painted the dresser the next day by yourself, then moved everything back into your room the day after that. Here is what it looks like now.

This was a "biggy" as you are the baby of the family and our princess, so you don't usually complete jobs. When you were little you would say "my legs are broken" which meant you were out of energy, and we even carried you most everywhere till you were in kindergarten. It was fun birthday shopping for things to "complete your room. Your favorite car is still a Mini Cooper and you have a large poster we printed out together on your wall. Your best friend is Danielle

and you say you are so opposite, yet it seems like you are so alike, you could be sisters. She is fun too, and says things that make us all laugh. She is polite, kind, thoughtful and we like to call her "our adopted daughter" Your boyfriend is Aaron.




He is such a nice boy. He treats you like a princess and is every mom's dream for her girl. He is polite, respectful, helpful, and treats you good. (Doesn't hurt that he plays the piano for me) YOur two youngest cousins adore you and you adore them. Here they are at the park the day before your birthday.




Your favorite foods are Italian, Mexican and I think you have a new favorite which is Chinese. This year you finally changed your thoughts about chocolate and you even asked for a chocolate cake! You love See's chocolate and got to hand pick a pound, as a gift from Grandma Lou. You also asked for a "Famous Chocolate Wafer" cake that we had for your birthday at your grandparents house. Your nicknames are sis, schmoopie, and princess. I love you more than you will ever know. (Maybe someday when you have a girl of your own you will know a little)

Love, Mom

Thanks to my sister Laughing Mommy for the pic of Kiara in her new bedroom!