Dear Ellie,
Happy Golden Birthday (14 on the 14th) Ellie Belly!
This year hasn't been your easiest year. You've struggled with migraines, school was much more challenging this year, and your theater situation was not ideal. In summary, a lot of things just didn't go the way you would have liked them to go. But on the flip side you found friends that you really connected with and you learned what it looks like to work really hard at something, even in a frustrating situation. You ended up in Art 1 this year and we really saw you grow as an artist. Also, you grew almost 4 inches this year so there's that!
We love you so much. You make us laugh with your dramatic imitations of people, you impress us with your random trivia knowledge, and we sure do love your random big hugs. You love to learn new and interesting information (and you're real opposed to learning anything you deem "boring"). You remember EVERYTHING (whereas I remember nothing). You still have your love of a good book. We've all learned to only ask you about the book you're reading if we have a solid 30 minutes to listen to a blow by blow recap of the book (did I mention you remember everything?). I love how fully immersed you get into a book series. This year you started a book club with some of your friends from school and loved it so much you would even get up early to go to book club before school and that's saying something because you REALLY love to sleep. You are my night owl and you love to sleep in. As I mentioned you really grew as an artist this year, and at home if you're not reading you can be found sprawled in the middle of your bedroom floor drawing. It is definitely an activity that you find very therapeutic and relaxing and I love that for you! You always impress me with your creativity and your skill, much of which has been self taught. You are an animal lover. You especially love cats, even though you have a bit of an allergy. 2024 was so hard with the loss of Franklin and you, more than any of your other siblings, missed having a furry friend SO much. One of my favorite moments of this past year was when we surprised you with Teddy. You cried and then just held him for a long time. You adore Teddy and I've loved seeing how much having Teddy around has helped you on hard days. The love of a pet is just something special. You are our adrenaline junky and will try anything. You love a zip line, ropes course, ski slope, etc. You're probably going to give me some grey hairs over the years but I do love your love of adventure and your willingness to try new things. You make me laugh because you will only ask a teacher a question in the most dire of situations but you are always willing to be the first one to walk into a new situation and figure it out. You told me that when you grow up you want to travel the world and I love that for you and hope that dream comes true!
I am so excited to see what high school holds for you. I know you're pretty nervous because many of your middle school friends are going to a different high school but I know you will find some new friends in high school. You will have the opportunity to take some great electives (sports medicine, theater, and art will hopefully be on your schedule this year) and further explore a few things you're interested in.
Ellie, I hope 14 is a wonderful year for you. I hope you are happy and I hope you find your people in high school. I hope you remember that you are amazing and that you are loved. I love you so much and am so thankful that God chose me to be your mom.
Love,
Mom