Kaylee Nicole is 13!

Our Kaylee Nicole, from the moment you were born you stole our hearts and we knew that our life would never be the same. You were an answer to so many prayers. I remember thinking I knew how much you would overwhelm my heart but I had no idea. With each passing year our love for you grows more and more. You have been a complete joy since day one and we are so thankful and proud to be your parents.  

There are so many things I could say about your amazing spirit but I will try to sum up some of my favorite things about you at this age...

You have an infectious smile and love of life, this has been a trait you have been blessed with since day one.

You love the Lord and others so well.

You are so well-rounded. Your interests include anything Texas Rangers, hunting, softball, basketball, shopping, you love learning and still look forward to school, Doctor Who, baking, collecting baseball cards, swimming and playing any kind of game.

You love your family and always enjoy spending time with them.

You have a great laugh that I have the pleasure of hearing often.

You are always willing to tell me about your day and I am so thankful that I have a 13 year old who will actually talk to me and tell me their deepest thoughts.

You are always ready to have fun and do not like drama at all.

You are the first one to want to sign up for any type of youth group activity and try to get others on board too.

You have a gift for finding those who are left out and including them in whatever you are doing.

You love little kids and they adore you.

I am so thankful for your heart. You will always be our Princess and we look forward to watching you grow and mature even more over the coming years. We think you are just amazing and love you with all of our hearts. Happy 13th Birthday! May all your wishes come true.

Kaylee is 13!

 Well somehow, despite my trying to slow time down, Kaylee turned 13! How is it possible that we have a teenager in the house? I gave Kaylee the option of having a big party with lots of friends or taking a few friends to the Gaylord Texan for the night and she chose the Gaylord to celebrate her big birthday. It is always a challenge to plan her birthday since it is so close to the holidays but we managed to find a weekend and we painted the town.

Kaylee chose a cake with snowflakes to go with the theme of the weekend.

Mattie, Anna, Kaylee & Maddie
These girls know Kaylee so well...she got a cake frosting lesson, Rangers gear, and a Doctor Who shirt for her birthday. All of her favorite things!

 As we were about to celebrate in the hotel room I noticed our favorite sitter from a few years ago (thanks to her Facebook post) was also in the hotel so she came up to the room for some hugs and cake. We love and miss Sarah so much!

 Here are the older girls in their party favor shirts heading to see the Ice exhibit.

 We could not let the younger girls miss out. Campbell got to bring her friend SJ along for the fun so that she could have a little adventure too.

 All bundled up and ready for the Frosty the Snowman themed Ice sculptures.

 After we viewed all of the amazing sculptures the girls went ice sledding on tubes. It was so much fun to watch their faces as they went flying down the ice. 

 Out of all of the sculptures in the exhibit I am always most in awe of the nativity scene. I love that they always put this at the end to remind everyone of the birth of Jesus and the true meaning of Christmas as well as every day.

While we did spend a lot of our time enjoying the activities at the Gaylord we also went to the Grapevine Mills Mall and did some shopping. I had the pleasure of shopping with the older girls which was fun and hilarious at the same time. We also ate at the Rainforest Cafe before packing everyone up and heading back home. As we were driving back I could not help but think of how blessed Kaylee is to have such precious girls to walk through her teenage years with. They were all such a joy to be with on this trip.