Sweet Sixteen

 Happy Sweet Sixteen birthday to Lily!

Lily's birthday fell just two days after we returned from our fall break trip. Grandpops and Grandma Jan sent her these beautiful flowers to start her day off right. Her volleyball team was supposed to have a game that evening, but the game got cancelled on Sunday night, so we pivoted plans quickly for the evening. We picked up some of her favorite bags of candies (starburst pink and red bag, and nerd clusters in original and berry flavors) and tied some cool balloons to them. We used some of the awesome dinosaur decorations that she loved from Ryan's party, and put all this together to decorate her room a little bit. She got to pick dinner for the evening, and she wanted my sausage croissant casserole, bacon, and sparkling grape juice. It was a low key evening, but I believe it was a lot more fun and relaxed than scrambling to get to a game and grabbing something quick on the road!

Even though Lily really isn't much of a dessert girl, you need to blow out candles on your birthday, so we picked up a cookie cake and some happy birthday candles so we could sing and celebrate her a little more.

We had actually given Lily our birthday present before our trip. We gave her a beautiful mother of pearl necklace that we hope she'll always treasure; she can always remember this was for her 16th birthday when she wears it. We thought she might enjoy having it to wear to shows on our trip which is why we gave it to her early.

Granna and Papa stopped by for a few minutes to give her good birthday wishes.

Even though Lily received her new Honda CR-V a couple of months ago (thank you Grandpops and Grandma Jan!), you need a picture on your 16th birthday with your new car. She has loved driving "Millie" around, and we pray that she has many safe years with this! She has a reservation to take her drivers' test in just a few days.

We look forward to Lily celebrating this big birthday with her friends in a couple of weeks after volleyball season is wrapped up.

I asked Lily the traditional birthday questions to see what her current favorites are. Here's what she said:

Color: Pink

Movie: Little Women

TV Show: Only Murders in the Building

Book: Where the Crawdads Sing

Drink: Cherry Coke

Food: Chicken Biscuit

Friend: Really tough one because she has several great friends; if she had to pick right at that moment, she'd say Kate Jackson

Bible Verse: 1 Timothy 4:12

School Subject: Literature with Mr. Hancock

Activity: Volleyball

Place to Go: Friends' houses

Game to Play: Telepathy

Restaurant: Chick-fil-a

Animal: Otter

Memory from Last Year: Seeing Phantom on Broadway

Most Thankful for: Family and Friends

Goal This Year: Make all A's and pass the AP European History exam

I put these collages together and posted them on social media on the 4th. It's fun to see how my precious baby girl has grown through the years.

Ryan and I are so incredibly proud to be Lily's parents. She is an amazing young woman with a lot of wonderful characteristics. She is honest, witty, articulate, intelligent, responsible, and loyal just to name a few. We really love hanging out with her! She has been created by a God who cherishes her, and we are thankful for her each and every day. We pray that she grows in her love and dependence on God, and that she will use her gifts and talents to honor Him. We cannot wait to see what her future holds!