Lilly turned HOW old?!

I don't like to think about how old I am, but when I have a girl who just turned 19, reality hits me pretty squarely in the face!  Nineteen sweet, stubborn, exciting, fun, dedicated, beautiful, happy, loving, determined, chocolaty-filled years with Lillian Noelle.  Love this girl!

 



Isn't she sweet?  Lilly was born 5 days after Christmas which she says is sometimes not as great as it would be say, 6 months after Christmas.  But in spite of that, she had a fun birthday this year.

And, even though we were delinquent in the picture taking, we did all go bowling, including 3 of Lilly's friends.  We finished out the night with pizza, pop, ice-cream cake, and a game of pool, followed by a movie night with friends and family.

 

We celebrated with presents a few days later when there was more time.  Some things she got this year were her fav movie, "A Walk to Remember", a planner for the organized side of her, another scarf (she almost has one for every day of the year), a plan of salvation shirt (my personal favorite), and a hammock for the outdoorswoman in her.
Leah gave her a vase in her favorite color, and the kids gave her some delicious dark chocolate candy. 

 

 

This girl is such a joy to have in our home!  She's always the life of the party, and loves to do fun things with her siblings  Many days the kids ask her what they're going to do fun that day, and she inevitably has lots of great ideas, some of which include ice skating, going to a movie, playing basketball or tennis, going to a movie, DQ, or longboarding. Ethan said the other day, "What are we going to do when Lilly goes on her mission?  It's going to be so boring!"  True indeed Ethan---we are going to miss her terribly.  And Mom is going to have to get less boring and more creative. 

 

 

And to top it all off, she just started her last semester of her RN program.  So if all goes as planned, she will graduate with her RN degree this spring!  It's amazing how much dedication and perseverance this girl has in her.

We're gonna miss this one when she decides she's had enough of us and moves out.  Meanwhile, we are soaking up as much fun and memories as we can with her! 

We are so blessed to have her in our lives.