Happy 17th!

Today our oldest is 17!!!!! I can hardly believe it.

I love her.

She has been super busy with her school play the last couple of weeks, and we haven't seen much of her around here.  We miss her. Today she has to leave at  4:00 to get ready for the play, so we are having as much fun as we can early on.  THEN we are all going to go watch her play!

She is an extra in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and, although she thinks the play would have been more fun had she had a bigger part, she has made some new friends in her spare time there at the play practices.  She sent me these pictures yesterday of her with her friend Ruth:

I'm not really sure who the middle girl is...

Kami is such a great child to have at the beginning of our family.  One of my favorite qualities about her is that she is such a patient person.  She is patient with situations, and time frames and patient with people; their inadequacies and short-comings and even their rudeness.  She never has anything mean to say about anyone, and just seems to figure that everyone is doing the best that they can, and accepts them for where they are in their development in life.  That's been an especially great gift to me, as her mother, in all my imperfections.  Maybe, because of her good example, I will learn to be as patient as she is eventually!

Shawn and I enjoy her so much, and she is one of my best friends.  She is also so good to her younger siblings - a great friend to the older ones, and a fun big sister to the younger ones.

Happy birthday dear Kami!!!