Eleven years old!

On this day eleven years ago I gave birth to Nadia Renee Kennedy! I had technically been a mother since 2005, but it didn't seem real until I held my daughter in my arms (very briefly) on June 24, 2008. It has been such a delight to be her mom for eleven years. I will admit I really, really don't like the idea that she might be leaving the nest in as early as seven more years.  I will try to savor the time we have together as much as possible! As proof that she is growing up way too fast, she attended the youth group's Sunday School class yesterday morning for the first time during the 10:45 service. Part of the time the 6th-12th graders are together, and then during the other part she was with middle school girls. She's leaving tomorrow on her first youth group trip. She'll be at the Creation music festival which means she'll be sleeping in a tent for five nights this week.

We began celebrating her birthday last Monday. Normally we have donuts on our actual birthdays, but this year I got the donuts on Saturday afternoon. I did this so Ian could have one

before he went to camp. The rest of us had our donuts yesterday at breakfast. On Friday she used part of her birthday money to buy a Lego set, which was delivered on Sunday thanks to Amazon Prime. I bought her a t-shirt at Camp Susque on Saturday which they made during her week of camp last summer when it rained incessantly. It was on clearance, and since Camp Susque is one of her most favorite places on the planet, I knew she'd love a Camp Susque shirt. It was my first purchase in their gift shop that wasn't a thumb drive. In the past years I've only ever bought a thumb drive containing photos from that week of camp. Here's a rundown of Nadia's birthday celebration today:

1. Opened her birthday presents from Paul and I around 7am. She got two CD's, two books of paper dolls (one of Abraham Lincoln's family and the other of Southern belles), the Lion Witch and the Wardrobe DVD, a puzzle from Shutterfly that featured photos of our immediate and extended family, and a large blue platform swing that can accommodate multiple

children at once. We assembled the swing this evening, and she can try it out once she gets home from VBS this evening!

2. Had a fried egg (cooked in a piece of toast) for breakfast while listening to a book by Andrew Clements on Hoopla. He's been one of her favorite authors over the last few months.

3. Continued to listen to the book while beginning the new puzzle

4. Looked at photo books in my bedroom - the kids love those photo books!

5. Watched two episodes of the Brady Bunch - her favorite show lately

6. Painted rocks at the public library in Milton

7. Had lunch with me at Perkins. Her meal was free since it was her birthday.

8. She got her first manicure, and I got my first manicure and pedicure in I think about nine years. I let her pick the color of

my fingernails. She picked a color I would never have chosen - a blueish purple. It was fun to try something different! I also decided to use the same polish she picked for her fingernails for my toenails - a shade of teal. I usually pick a shade of pink or red and sometimes dark purple, but whenever I look at my toenails (until this nail polish is worn off), I will think of Nadia as my toenails are painted her favorite color! I was in my late twenties when I had my first professional manicure so she's starting at a much younger age than I did! I'm sure it will be an every once in a blue moon activity for us, but it helped make her birthday special. After her fingernails had dried, she played on the iPad during my pedicure. She played some of her favorite My Town apps.

9. We walked a few doors down from the salon to a Sweet Frog. She mixed several flavors of frozen yogurt together and then put on a ton of different toppings. I think we might make this a birthday tradition for all the kids - a trip to Sweet Frog. Today was our first time going.

10. At home she watched another episode of Brady Bunch, talked to Grandpa and Gubba on the phone, and had dinner. She had a ham and cheese hot pocket, grapes, Sun Chips, and finished her frozen yogurt from earlier in the day. We listened to more of the book while the two of us ate our light dinner.

11. Right now she's at VBS. She's in the Corinth group. The lessons this week are about Paul as the curriculum is called Athens.

I think summer is probably her favorite season of the year as she gets to do some of the things she loves best - go swimming, spend a week at Camp Susque, spend a week with Aunt Janet on Long Island (which involves a lot of swimming), Camp Good News, horseback riding, and time with cousins (planning to spend 4 days with Wendy and her kids in NYC in August). I'm eternally grateful that God gave us this miracle named Nadia Renee whose name aptly means "hope reborn." We love you ever so much, Nadia!!!