Sweet Sixteen

Well, it's been 8 months since Kylie turned 16, and I'm JUST getting around to writing about it.  

Sixteen is a big one, and Kylie was excited to celebrate but she wanted it all to be a surprise, so we tried.

I attempted to reserve a fancy restaurant for her special night, but it happened to be a live-band night with a appetizer buffet, so I backed it up a night to the eve of her birthday, which helped with surprising her.  We all got dressed up, invited some friends, and we even had a guest in town from Texas that joined us.

This was the fancy bathroom at the restaurant, so we decided to take pictures in there, too.

The next morning, her breakfast included some special earrings from us and a dear friend in Texas and a red notebook full of letters from friends and relatives from all over the world.  She LOVED it all. Thank you to all of you who participated in writing her letters when I asked!

She's also had told me how she loved the special birthday posters she has seen on-line, but since I couldn't order one, I spent a few days making one. 







































After gifts and coffee, we took her to her favorite breakfast restaurant, and we all indulged.

This restaurant is owned by Syrians, and we think it's one of the best breakfasts around.

After that feast, we were all too full for lunch, but we had a Mexican dinner surprise at our friends' house.

 When we walked in, they threw confetti on her, and we enjoyed a night of homemade Mexican food.

Karis had decorated her breakfast cookie with an insignia idea that came from one of my girls' favorite book series.

Let me put a plug in here for the book series, Gateway Chronicles, by K.B. Hoyle.  I read them along with Kylie after Karis had told us how much she loved them.  They are 6 tremendous books!  And they really have an incredible story, seeing as how they mirror the greatest story of all time.  His Book.

Since I'm posting this 6 months after all of these pictures were taken, you can see how much Caleb has grown since August.  He is now about as tall as Karis.

Even when we were done pulling out all the stops for Kylie, her party seemed to continue.

One of her dear friends surprised her the next night by taking her out for sushi.

And when she came home, some other friends surprised her at our house with a slumber party!

So, happy belated birthday, Kylie.  I hope you felt loved and celebrated because we think you are amazing! You made us parents 16.5 years ago, and the adventure has continued ever since.

You are a talented, kind, hard-working, beautiful young lady who loves the Lord and desires to honor Him with her life.  What more could a parent ask for?