Sweet Sixteen

Today is Hannah's 16th birthday. I still have a hard time believing I am old enough to have a 16 year old and a nearly 20 year old. I surely must have had them when I was just a wee little child.

She is so much like me. I probably should have known what was ahead when she was two weeks late, following in my footsteps. She came home from the hospital sleeping through the night and was this content, sweet little thing until she encountered cold weather. Something snapped inside of her when she found something she did not like - being cold. (She still hates cold weather!) Since then she has always known what she did and did not like and has not hesitated to share it or get stuck in the mud regarding it.

People often say she is me on steroids - oh my! She cannot work in clutter, she is a rule follower and comes near to melt down when there is a gray area. She makes a list and sticks to the list - she even sometimes writes something on the list that she is already doing just so she can be sure something has been marked off. She has a plan for everything in life and when the plan doesn't work she freezes.

She is beautiful on the inside and the out. She has a servants heart and a tender heart. She would love to change the world. She loves preschoolers and they love her. She interacts with adults as an adult and then turns around and interacts with preschoolers on their level too.

She loves the Lord and it is exciting to see how she is growing in that relationship. She is going to Honduras this summer with me and had to pay her own way. It has been neat to see her prayers be answered in ways bigger than she expected!

Happy Sweet 16 Birthday Hannah!

come back tomorrow for a reflection on a friend I ran into at the gym last night - a friend from 16 years ago.