happy birthday, mom!

Dear Mom,
You are the greatest person I know. Thank for your teaching me everything I know today. Thank you for teaching me every day. Thank you for teaching me the importance of saying please and thank you, how to eat my vegetables and enjoy them, how important it is to treat people with respect, how to learn from my mistakes, to walk around with my head held high no matter the circumstances, for making me do chores, for honesty, for laughter, for memories, for tough (and soft) love. Most of all...for being my best friend.

Thank you for all of the hard work you do for your family.
Happy Birthday!

Love,

Your Sugar Plum Fairy Princess

happy birthday!

Dear Mom,
I've been trying to think of what I want to say, but you're just so amazing, that I can't think of the ways to sum it up. I guess what I really want to say is thank you. Thank you for raising Kenneth, Clayton, and I all on your own. Thank you for teaching us good manners, for plenty of family dinners throughout the week, how to say please and thank you, and be kind to others. Thank you for teaching us the value of treating others as we would like to be treated. Thank you for letting us know you loved us all the time, and caring for us in so many different ways.

Personally, thank you for letting me be your baby girl...even at 20. Thank you for playing with my hair, snuggles on the couch, tucking me in, scratching my back, being a shoulder to cry on, telling me I'm beautiful (because every girl really does need to hear that), letting me bake with you, laughing with me, teaching me how to cook, teaching me how to run a home at some point in my life, making me do chores throughout my life. They were good for me, and showed me responsibility. Thank you for teaching me the importance of money saving. Thank you for being someone I can confide in, and tell everything. Thank you for being my best friend.
I love you so much! You're the best Mom ever! Seriously.
Love, Kaitlyn.

friday was my birthday, and i turned 20 years old. i'm still not so sure how i feel about it. if it means that i got to eat that beautiful cake made special by my mom, then i'm all for it. i actually had a pretty good birthday. i spent it at home, but it was good. my step-sister, sarah, came to my house a few days earlier then her brother for my birthday. we got to go to the beach and just spend some good, quality time together. having her come early and getting to go shopping and just have girl time was the best. it made my birthday! on friday my three step-brothers came for the weekend and my brother clayton brought home his girlfriend for us to meet for the first time. there were 10 people in my house all weekend long. it was crazy, but it was a lot of fun, too. we played a hilarious 9 person game of apples to apples on friday night.

on saturday my brothers, chelsea (clayton's girlfriend) and i went to my dad's house to celebrate my birthday. it's always fun to carry over the birthday cheer for a couple days after the birthday is done and gone. which brings me to today. everyone keeps asking me if i feel any different, and all i can say is "not yet". i never do. the change doesn't just happen over night, and i'm grateful for that. honestly, i'd be a little weirded out if i suddenly changed over night without warning. it's something that will happen over my 20th year of life. i'm excited, though. a lot of big things are coming my way, and i'm excited to see where God takes me and how He uses me. it will be good. i know it.