Happy Birthday Jenna!

Jenna turned 14 on April 17.  She tries really hard to be cool and not act excited about her birthday.  But, like every other child, she loves it.  We started off the morning with some cinnamon rolls.  Not the healthiest of breakfasts, but you only turn 14 once and I'm kind of a sucker for my kids.  We have to leave at 7:20 for school each day so I figured she would open her gifts after school.  However, she made it clear that waiting until after school would be nothing short of torture.  Therefore, she opened her gifts before she left for school that morning.

Jenna is a voracious reader.  She asked, begged and pleaded for a Kindle.  Jared and I decided there wasn't a better gift for her.  As you can see, she was very, very happy.  She exclaimed, "This is the best birthday present ever!!!!!" 

There comes a time in every child's life when the birthday cake they want needs to taste really good.  They don't care if it looks like a princess, a castle, a football or a soccer field.  Jenna has reached this point.  She adores my "death by chocolate" cake and her birthday wouldn't be complete without it.

I can't believe she's 14, honestly, where does the time go?  She is turning into such a beautiful and amazing young woman.  She loves learning.  She has such a strong testimony and such a strong desire to do all that is right.  She is such a great influence for good, even in a world that grows increasingly difficult to grow up in.  As her mother, I have enjoyed the last year with her.  We are developing such a different relationship now that she's older than I have had with my younger children.  I love having talks with her about challenges that she's facing and about fun things that are going on in her life.  There was a time when my Uncle Steve told me that teenagers are as good or as bad as you perceive them to be.  I took that to heart and decided that I would love having teenagers.  I absolutely adore this teenager of mine.  She is a joy to have in our home.  Jenna, always stay exactly as you are.  I love you everyday!