My daughters are reading these books:  Emily Climbs by L.M. Montgomery, and Lucy Steps Through the Wardrobe.  Good, wholesome, soul-full, beautiful books.  There’s nothing like pre-internet literature, in my opinion.

As I mentioned yesterday, dear daughter Grace turned 16.

She’s a confident, takes -her- responsibilities -seriously, friend -to -all type of young woman.

She gets ideas and she follows through.

Last week she came home and told me she taught an elective (one time) class with another teacher and she enjoyed it.  The kids who signed up for the class enjoyed it, too.

She might be a teacher one day, and if she is….she’ll be a great one.

She’s working on ASL fluency.  She has so many ideas about that, too.

I have this photo of her when she was seven.

Larissa delivered the cakes yesterday and helped get the room ready for a simple family dinner and cake night.

Grace requested shrimp scampi for dinner.  Costco sells it frozen, and it’s very easy to prepare.  While the noodles are boiling, all you need to do is dump the scampi in another skillet and heat.

We also had fresh fruit (grapes, raspberries, blackberries), a dish of diced tomatoes as a topper to the pasta for those who wished, and broccoli.  There was apple cider to drink.

While I was busy getting the last things on the table, I found Caleb giving his sister a hug.

We had an early dinner because Seth and Caleb had football practice.  So we ate and then let Grace open her bag of gifts.

There was an uproar about finding the football gear but I finally got out the door with the boys…only to discover once we got to the field that Seth had forgotten his helmet and Caleb didn’t have practice, he had a movie night with the team at the Coach’s house.

On the way back home I listened to the radio.

Rich came home and we had some snuggle time on the couch until he went to pick up the boys.

8pm — delicious cake and ice cream to celebrate our beautiful Grace Lillian.

She was born around 3 a.m. in the morning.  She was the first labor and delivery I smiled through, thanks to a first-time epidural.

Our precious baby daughter had arrived, after two boys.  Oh how fun it was to dress her up in little girl clothes and to see her brothers fall in love with their tiny sister.  She was 5 pounds and 13 ounces when she was born….my smallest baby.

We have had 16 blessed years with our girl and we are forever grateful for the opportunity to raise her and love her.

There is no such thing in anyone’s life as an unimportant day. ~Alexander Woollcott

To finish the moment, to find the journey’s end in every step of the road, to live the greatest number of good hours, is wisdom. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Jacob and Emily weren’t able to join us for cake because they were working.

(individual ice cream cups made serving so much easier)

waving the smoke away

The cake had raspberry filling.

(If you’re reading this an you’re a local friend please stop by for a piece of cake.  There is a lot left over.)

Rich and his daughter have a date planned to go and get her set up with her first bow.  It’s what she has wanted for a long time now.  She will add “archery” to her list of accomplishments very soon.

Be deeply satisfied and ready for more. ~Abraham–Hicks