Dear Halle,

Wow.  When your kids are little everyone tells you how fast time will fly.  And it’s super hard to believe.  Because every day feels like eternity.  But then I blinked my eyes and I have a smart, fun, kind, sweet, beautiful 15 year old baby girl!  I love you so much and I am so glad to be your mom.

Halle, you are so dedicated and determined.  You work so hard at school and have done a great job transitioning to the demands of high school.  Marching Band has been so much fun and I love watching you be involved and do something that you love.  You also love early morning seminary.  I never have to drag you out of bed.  You are always up and ready to go.  One night I was super tired and tried to convince you to skip seminary the next morning and you wouldn’t do it! You love it too much.

You have fun hanging out with your cute friends and chatting in google hangouts.  It’s a time in life where lots of things are changing as you navigate growing up.  It comes with lots of ups and downs.  I want you to know that I am proud of you and that you are doing great!  I am here for you and want to help you through the good times and the bad.

You are still an animal lover to your core.  It was hard to navigate our schedules this fall so that you could volunteer at the humane society again.  But you were persistent and didn’t give up.  I’m so glad we were able to negotiate and compromise and that you get to spend a couple of hours a week doing something you love so much.

We went to get your Learner’s Permit on the afternoon of your birthday and we were met with a weird situation.  My license was expired and when I tried to renew it, we were told that there was a hold on my license because I had been the victim of attempted identity theft in 2014.  This meant I couldn’t renew and you couldn’t get your Learner’s Permit because I didn’t have a valid license.  You were disappointed, but you took it in stride and didn’t let it ruin your day.  This is such a great quality.  You can roll with the punches and take life as it comes.

Keep being you!  You were intentionally made by the Creator of the Universe and he loves you.  He made you just the way you are for a special purpose.  There is no one like you and no one better equipped to impact the world in your unique and beautiful way.  I love you MOST.

Love, Mom

Halle got to celebrate with friends over for a late night on her birthday.  We had a crepe cake in NYC last year and it was sooooo good.  So, I decided to try to replicate it at home.  I am pretty proud of how it turned out! And her friends are incredible singers!

Also, while Grandma and Grandpa were here we checked her out of school and took her to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch and some delicious banana cream cheesecake.  The servers sang to her and she blushed the whole time.  So cute.  G&G gave her an adorable Anne of Green Gables porcelain doll that they got on Prince Edward Island on their recent trip to Canada. Happy Birthday, Halle girl! You are loved!