Today, my little girl turns 14! Fourteen years ago, this precious blessing came into the world prematurely (about 5 weeks early). She weighed only 4 lbs. 5 1/2 oz. She had to stay in the hospital for 18 days before we could bring her home. Those days were the most difficult 18 days of my life. My husband and I were so excited about our first baby but saddened at the same time because we couldn’t have her with us and her health was unstable. We prayed and prayed for her and we visited her everyday. It was terribly difficult and heart-wrenching when we had to leave her at the end of each day. However, we knew the whole time that she was in God’s hand (the best place to be)! We’re so very thankful that the Lord has been graciously blessing and protecting our daughter. If you see her today, you will never guess that she was born prematurely. She’s healthy and quite tall. What a blessing she has been to all who get to know her!!! She loves the Lord with all her heart, all her soul, and all her mind. And her life shows that! She diligently hides God’s Word in her heart. She always strives to please God. She is a kind of girl whom every (esp. Christian) parent would want their daughter to have as a friend 
. God has given her wisdom and discernment. She has a compassion for the needy, the oppressed, the unreached, and the unborn. JoJo, the owner of ArtofEloquence, gave my daughter the Purple Crayon Award in May of this year for her speech, "Choose Life." Earlier this year locally she won $50 for a writing contest. She not only is beautiful inside and outside but also funny and clever. She scores at 99th percentile on all her standardized tests. She’s very responsible with her schoolwork. She has been making a monthly e-newsletter called, "Integrity Newsletter" for our family and friends. She’s self-taught, self-motivated, and self-disciplined. Can you tell we’re so proud of her? We give all praises to God for raising her to be such a Godly young lady!!! "…but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice, and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,’ declares the Lord." Jeremiah 9:24
On Saturday, we had a birthday party for her. We started off with a treasure hunt. The kids (7) had to solve 14 rhyming clues that I made up. They did really well in spite of occasional head-scratchings . Some clues were harder than others. They finally found the treasures (chocolate coins and their goodie bags filled with cool stuff and treats). After that, we played "charades." Each team had 14 words (summer-related) to act out. What a blast! Even Grandpa got into it giving answers left and right . Then it was time for yummies. We served fruit swirled cheesecakes (peach, lemon, strawberry, wild berry), raspberry Danish ring, Snickers ice cream, chocolate-covered ice cream bars, sundae cones, and ice cream sandwiches. Snacks included toffee nuts, variety of chips, cheese & crackers, pretzels, cocoa Chex mix, vanilla wafers, jellybeans, and chocolate mints. Next was time to open presents. The birthday girl received books, money, jewelry, Precious Moments figurine, socks, and sketch drawing supplies. We gave her an Elsie Dinsmore book (#2), a Laylie Colbert book (#1) (both are from a Life of Faith series), a DVD, The League of Grateful Sons, produced by Vision Forum (she has a strong interest in World War II), and $14 (every year we give her the amount that’s equal to her age). She has been saving money for college. I can’t believe my little girl is going to be a high-schooler this year. Okay..back to the party, lastly we played Whoonu (a Cranium game where you guess each other’s favorite things). This game is lots of fun and you get to know one another better. We discovered fun surprises even about ourselves when we have to decide which one we like more (eg. bookstores or chocolate cake?) Decisions…decisions…a dilemma for me !
Well, the birthday girl and I are going to make a chocolate chip cheesecake together to celebrate her actual birthday! Sweet treat for my sweet girl!
. God has given her wisdom and discernment. She has a compassion for the needy, the oppressed, the unreached, and the unborn. JoJo, the owner of ArtofEloquence, gave my daughter the Purple Crayon Award in May of this year for her speech, "Choose Life." Earlier this year locally she won $50 for a writing contest. She not only is beautiful inside and outside but also funny and clever. She scores at 99th percentile on all her standardized tests. She’s very responsible with her schoolwork. She has been making a monthly e-newsletter called, "Integrity Newsletter" for our family and friends. She’s self-taught, self-motivated, and self-disciplined. Can you tell we’re so proud of her? We give all praises to God for raising her to be such a Godly young lady!!! "…but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice, and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,’ declares the Lord." Jeremiah 9:24On Saturday, we had a birthday party for her. We started off with a treasure hunt. The kids (7) had to solve 14 rhyming clues that I made up. They did really well in spite of occasional head-scratchings
. Some clues were harder than others. They finally found the treasures (chocolate coins and their goodie bags filled with cool stuff and treats). After that, we played "charades." Each team had 14 words (summer-related) to act out. What a blast! Even Grandpa got into it giving answers left and right . Then it was time for yummies. We served fruit swirled cheesecakes (peach, lemon, strawberry, wild berry), raspberry Danish ring, Snickers ice cream, chocolate-covered ice cream bars, sundae cones, and ice cream sandwiches. Snacks included toffee nuts, variety of chips, cheese & crackers, pretzels, cocoa Chex mix, vanilla wafers, jellybeans, and chocolate mints. Next was time to open presents. The birthday girl received books, money, jewelry, Precious Moments figurine, socks, and sketch drawing supplies. We gave her an Elsie Dinsmore book (#2), a Laylie Colbert book (#1) (both are from a Life of Faith series), a DVD, The League of Grateful Sons, produced by Vision Forum (she has a strong interest in World War II), and $14 (every year we give her the amount that’s equal to her age). She has been saving money for college. I can’t believe my little girl is going to be a high-schooler this year. Okay..back to the party, lastly we played Whoonu (a Cranium game where you guess each other’s favorite things). This game is lots of fun and you get to know one another better. We discovered fun surprises even about ourselves when we have to decide which one we like more (eg. bookstores or chocolate cake?) Decisions…decisions…a dilemma for me !Well, the birthday girl and I are going to make a chocolate chip cheesecake together to celebrate her actual birthday! Sweet treat for my sweet girl!
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