Jenna = "God's Gracious Gift"

My Jenna is 17 today - I am a little bit in shock.

But I cannot deny that this gorgeous creature who calls me "Mom" has become a grown-up young lady.

She is truly amazing, on so many levels.  Let me tell you about some of them:

• She is smart as a whip. She has the vocabulary of the full-size edition of the Webster's Dictionary.  It's from all the reading she does, every day, for as much time as she can.  The girl can speed-read, and she understands the nuances and intricacies of the most challenging of plots.  
• She is incredibly beautiful.  The blue eyes, the long eyelashes, the curly hair, the long, lean frame.  But really, all of that is only a lovely covering for the beauty within: a gentle heart, an easy-going nature, a desire to do good and be good.
• She is a fighter.  She keeps this hidden behind a smile and friendly demeanor, but she won't give up. You can see this especially when she competes in sports:  you think she's this nice girl until she knocks you down to get the ball.  But she does help you up again afterwards. 
• She is deeply spiritual.  She knows where she came from, why she's here, and where she's going. She loves the Lord, trusts in Him, and places her life in His hands.  Her faith is a deep well that she dips into regularly and  shares freely with others. 
• She is full of fun little quirks, like: hiding food in her room so that she always has a good treat, learning to play the ukelele, reading the Harry Potter books over and over and over, wearing flip-flops and shorts in the snow, and watching Asian cartoons on Youtube.

One of my dearest memories of Jenna is when she was a baby and we were in her room together.  I was talking on the phone to a friend and Jenna was crawling around, playing with her toys and looking at her books (yes, even then).  She climbed into my lap, snuggled in, and fell asleep.  I was so surprised because this girl liked to sleep in her bed, and only in her bed.  I told my friend what had happened, and she said, "You are so blessed to have that experience."

She was right.  Because I have Jenna in my life, I am so blessed.

Love you, my Jenna. Happy birthday!