Sweet Sixteen

We have another daughter who has reached the Sweet Sixteen milestone! Sixteen years ago today, Jay and I held Ellen in our arms for the very first time. Ellie was an 8 lb 15.5 oz bundle of joy. Sarah was thrilled to have a baby sister and the boys all fought for a turn to hold her.

Ellie was a child filled with joy and enthusiasm. She was slow to talk, but made up for that in spades during her preschool years! She loved to go shopping with me when she was little and always asked if we could go to "just one more store" when it was time to go home.

Being Ellie isn't always easy! Having five older siblings meant that there were often lots of people bossing her around!

Ellie was our youngest child for over five years...the longest stretch we ever had between babies! We thought she would be our last, but God had other plans and made Ellie a big sister a few months after her 6th birthday. Despite all those years of being our "baby", Ellie was excited and enthusiastic to be a big sister! She has always been a "super sister" to Luke and then, two years later, to Kate as well. Ellie spent countless hours making up games and playing with both of them. Just another expression of her very generous heart.

Ellie was our Cindy Lou Who girl with her big blue eyes and very blond hair. The blond hair darkened as she got older, but those big blue eyes are still amazing and draw people in! When she was a baby, all the older ladies at the market were drawn in by those big, blueberry eyes and gave her lots of attention. (Which Ellie always loved when she was little!)

Ellie is our sports girl. She loves watching baseball with Jay and played basketball since she was 7 up until this year. In high school, Ellie joined the volleyball team and this year decided to try out softball, which she hasn't played since she was 9. She loves being part of a team and cheering people on.

As Ellie became a teenager, she lost some of her exuberant personality. She no longer tries to photo bomb lots of pictures...and I have to beg for, (or sneak), a photo nowadays! Ellie has always been a reader, and she still loves to hide out in her room getting caught up in one of the many books she is putting holds on at the library.

Ellie has done amazing in high school academically! She works really hard in school..sometimes a little too hard...and has to be reminded that a "B" wouldn't be the end of the world!

Ellie has a gentle, loving heart and is a very spiritual girl. She feels emotions very deeply, which can definitely be a challenge for her at times!   But her big heart is part of who she is, and we love that about her.

Ellie has definitely been one of our easier kids to parent through the teenage years so far...which Ellie reminds Jay and I frequently that we should be thankful for. Which we are! :)

Ellie is looking forward to getting her permit in the very near future. (Driving...shudder, shudder...one of my least favorite parenting phases!) She also just got her very first real job as an ice cream scooper for the summer in anticipation for paying for car insurance towards the end of the year. Ellie is just growing and changing into an amazing young women right before our eyes. She gleefully reminded me this morning, "Only two more years until I'm an adult!"

As a mom it's definitely a little bittersweet to see the youngest of our older crew spreading her wings more and more. Despite how hard it is to see Ellie growing up, Jay and I are so grateful that God had blessed us with such a wonderful daughter!

Happy 16th Birthday, Ellie! We love you to the moon...and back!