Fifteen Going On Fifteen!

My eldest daughter just turned 15 years old this past weekend!

I know this sounds so cliche, but she is turning out to be a wonderful young lady!

Not only is she gorgeous, but she is smart, witty, fun, independent, super outgoing, athletic, confident, talkative, and yet very humble.

I love that even though she has a boyfriend, she still is the same. She doesn't have to change, or even feel like she has to change for him. Or for anyone, for that matter.

She won't hesitate to speak the truth, or even tell it how it is. Definitely not a wallflower, or pushover.

I love that about her!

More importantly, she takes her walk with the Lord seriously (as well as her purity).

I wish I knew the Lord at a young age.

For her birthday, my sis in-law decided to give her a purity ring.

I love how it represents what she believes in. It says "LOVE WAITS" on the band, and she is definitely waiting until marriage for that "moment." It's not just a promise to herself, but to the Lord. We're so blessed that her and her boyfriend have the same faith and ideals for their courtship/relationship.

She is such a treasure to us!

HERE I AM TO WORSHIP

I love when my older two kids play & sing Praise & Worship music on their guitars. It's such a blessing to hear them praising the Lord that way. Lately, my oldest daughter has been writing her own music, and just the other night, she came out with her notepad so I could listen to part of a new song she wrote. I hope they never get tired of playing their guitars.

SNEAK PEEK

This...

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Embassy Suites


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MUCH MORE...

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FUN!!!

What is this all about?

Well, since I can't keep my mouth shut, I might as well share it with bloggy friends!

My oldest daughter is turning 13 in a couple of months (sigh), and we were trying to figure out a fun way to celebrate her birthday.

It turns out that one of her BFF's is turning 13 a couple of weeks after her, so her mom and I decided that we would have one party for the both of them. It works out perfect because they have the same friends, and we would all be killing two birds with one stone!

So, this is the plan. I've already reserved a suite at the Embassy Suites Hotel, and confirmed that all their friends can go. We are going to take them to lunch (they get to choose where), and then come back to the hotel so they can go swimming (indoors), and then afterward, Karaoke in the room, have snacks, games, movies, and more!

My friend is so creative, and she's already picked up some items for the party (like what you see above). We're going to find out if we can check in a little early so we can decorate the room in advance. The girls have already chosen the theme, which is this:

The birthday girls are really excited about this (naturally so). My daughter will no longer be a "tween" but a TEEN and I'll have two teenagers in the house! How time flies...

BRACE FACE

My oldest daughter, Miranda, is getting braces!

Her teeth aren't that bad, just a little crooked in a couple of spots.

But, still. She's aware!

With her being a tween (13 in May), and more conscious of her looks, she had brought it up to us a couple of times about getting braces. Our dentist told us to wait, but I didn't understand why, so I just called my friend who works for an Orthodontist, and she made an appointment for her to come in for a consultation.

They said her "case" is an easy, straight forward one since her teeth aren't too bad. She had to have a mold done (gag), and I had to take her to another dental office to get these certain pictures taken of her teeth and profile.

I want to document her braces story here, so this way, I will always remember! LOL, I told her that I wouldn't take any funky pictures of her.

Her second appointment, which was a few days ago, was to put the spacers in the back of her teeth. Not painful at all, and we were only there for twenty minutes. Next appointment are for the bands. FUN!

Good news is that she will only need to wear the braces for maybe a year and a half to two years. Not long at all!

With a name like this, I totally feel comfortable with the Ortho!

She's checking out the pictures that were taken of her teeth. She would die if I put those on here! LOL!!

These are bad pictures because I forgot my camera at home. These are all taken with my Blackberry. Here is a mold of her top teeth (it's upside down of course).

And, here is the bottom!

FALL SOCCER...CHECK!

This is the last weekend for soccer. All my kids are playing their tournament games this weekend. At least 10 games total. I say at least because my older kids team may make it to the championship and play a 3rd game on Sunday.

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but my oldest daughter plays on my oldest sons soccer team.

And yes, she's the only girl on the team.

Typically, after 10 years old, the teams are no longer co-ed. But, it's not against the rules if you want to put your daughter on an all boys team (which usually doesn't happen anyway). Or, can you imagine a boy on an all girl team? Heehee.

Actually, this team was originally hers when my husband started coaching it when she was 5 years old! Some of the boys are still on the team from when they were that young.

So, I wasn't surprised when she changed her mind at the last minute, and wanted to be on the team this year. It could be a comfort factor since daddy is the coach, but don't get me wrong, she has to play just as hard as the boys, and do everything they do.

Yes, there are times she slacks, but when she's got her game face on, she's GOT GAME! In fact, out of all the boys, she's the second fastest runner, and the fastest boy is an actual "runner."

She cracks me up because she could be girly, and yet be just "one of the boys."

She's definitely not a push over, and the boys don't dare disrespect her. Not just because she is the coaches daughter, but because that is one of the rules my husband laid out right at the beginning. They are not allowed to tease or discourage each other. He demands they respect one another, and foul language is not allowed. He has a great team, the moral is always up, and they do not play dirty. All he wants from them is to have a good time, and they do. I know my husband is proud of his team, and they are always 1st or 2nd place at the tournaments, in Division 1 (yah, baby)!

This is her soccer picture for the year, and I love it. I think it came out great with her hair blowing in the wind. That's the "girly" side of her.

But, look below to the team photo (she is in the middle row, third from the left). She's easy to spot since she's the only girl. My son, Isaiah is standing up right behind her, and my husband is in her row on the far left, kneeling down.

Look at her expression!!! Such a contrast from her indiviual shot!

That's my gurrrlll!!

MIRANDA'S BIRTHDAY DINNER

My sister in law wanted to take us all out to dinner for Miranda's birthday, so the birthday girl got to pick where she wanted to eat at. She chose Giorgio's Italian Restaurant, and boy, it was yummy! Just the bread alone with the garlic butter is enough to satisfy! After our delicious dinner, we came home and had cake that Miranda made all by herself! Strawberry cake with strawberry frosting! A perfect way to end her night!

All of us including my sister-in-law on the left!

Still deciding what to have for dinner...

This picture cracks me up because of Eli's expression. Veronica must have been doing something to annoy him...lol!

You know I couldn't do a restaurant post without sharing pictures of the food! I'm sooooo predictable by now, aren't I? I ordered the Fettucini Alfredo with shrimp. I really need to get out of my comfort zone and order something different!

Eli's yummy burger! Yah..he's pretty predictable too!

My husbands lasagna! He said it was awesome!

Isaiah's personal pizza!! I blurred the edges on some of these pictures so you wouldn't have to see the junk on the table!

Danny & Veronica ordered the same thing. Fettucini Alfredo.

My sister in laws mound of spaghetti!!!

Miranda's personal pizza!

Oh my gosh..it took forever just to take their picture!!! By this time, I didn't care how they posed!

Love my sons shirt. Here's a close up!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

HAPPY 12TH BIRTHDAY, MIRANDA!

I officially have two 12 year olds living under my roof right now! Well, it will be that way till July 11th when my eldest turns 13! If you're still a little confused, I'll clear it up for ya. My two oldest children are 10 1/2 months apart, so for a month and a half, they are the same age!

But today, it's all about her, and I look back and think how fast these 12 years have gone by. Ever since she was a baby, she was always just a tiny little thing! But, let me tell you, big things come in small packages!

She's so independent and definitely has a mind of her own. One of the qualities I admire about her is that she will not compromise her beliefs in the Lord, and she is a leader, not a follower. She knows what she wants and she's not afraid to try anything! She's strong, yet sensitive. Beautiful, yet modest. But she is also honest, smart, funny, loud, brave, and loyal.

I just pray that the Lord will use her in a mighty way, and that I continually look to Him for guidance in raising not only her, but my other children as well.

We love you, Miranda! I'm so blessed to call you my daughter.