Ella turns 15

I never thought I'd see the day when I'd have a 15 year old and a soon-to-be driver in the house! I'm scared and excited and sad! We celebrated Ella's birthday COVID style and kept things simple... a special family breakfast made to order (blueberry muffin cake), take out dinner at her favorite restaurant, Indian Garden, then a special dessert (strawberry cake) baked with love by Brooklyn. Not that exciting but exactly what she requested! Her gift giving this year wasn't especially exciting either considering she didn't ask for a single thing. We wracked our brains for weeks leading up to the big day, and as many (brilliant) ideas as I thought I had, she had a "no thanks" to follow. In the end, she got money, which is wonderful, but if you know Ella you know she doesn't spend money very well. I wonder who she gets that trait from! Ella is the easiest child on the planet (truely)! I'm going to say that now because I fear one day she'll do a complete 180! I doubt it, but I've learned over the past six months in this crazy world we live in that anything is possible! For now, I'll enjoy this beautiful, happy, smart, talented, organized, responsible, loving, kind, thoughtful, spiritual, totally on the ball young woman that I've been blessed to call mine for the past 15 years. As much as I'd love to take credit for the amazing human being that she is, I can't... I'm pretty sure she came that way and I thank my lucky stars every day! Just a few interesting things about Ella... - She got her working papers and can now work legally in the state of PA. We're going to get applications at Makefield Highlands Golf Course around the corner from our house and Chick-fil-a. Oh, the new bookstore in Yardley Boro would be a good place for her to work, too, especially considering... - She still reads an unhealthy amount of books each day! - She isn't very good at making her own meals (like breakfast and lunch). She'll come into the kitchen and basically eat whatever is sitting on the counter that hasn't already been claimed by someone else, or she'll just wait until people are done eating and take the leftover scraps. She's like a scavenger. It's quite hilarious. Whenever someone is full and there's still food on their plate, they always offer it to Ella cause that's basically how she eats every meal. (Not sure why these pictures are so yellow... maybe the filter I used on my camera or the lighting in the house?)