Sweet 16!

Happy birthday, Kaytlin!

Today my daughter turns 16, sweet 16! It also is her "golden birthday."

Kaytlin was a planned child, we (I) wanted another child so much, and I was overjoyed to be pregnant with her. It was rough, I was very, very sick because she was a package deal, so twice as many hormones. Her sister Abigail died in their third month. Kaytlin hung in there, through 6 months of premature labor.

We were living in Germany. Kaytlin was born June 16, 2:05 am on Father's Day in Kusel, Germany after 4 days of very hard labor. Is it any wonder that my first words after her birth were "Happy Father's Day, now get her out of my face!"???

Kaytlin loved her daddy more than she did me that first morning. She screamed whenever I held her, it was a struggle to even nurse her. She would scream for Donnie to burp her. Donnie was tired and eventually needed to go home to sleep and get Drew. He could hear her screaming all the way down the hall until the elevator doors shut.

After that, she wouldn't forgive him for leaving her there, so for four months he couldn't hold her. She would even wake up if he tried to hold her in her sleep.

Kaytlin was very fussy for a long time, we think she felt like she was missing a part of herself because Abigail did not live. For the first year Kaytlin did not sleep in the crib. She only slept if I was holding her.

At about 3yo she finally came out of it. And there was much rejoicing!

Kaytlin was a very sweet young girl. If she told a lie, or just didn't tell something she had done, she couldn't sleep until she came and confessed. Very tender-hearted.

Now Kaytlin is such a mature young lady. Yes, she does back talk a bit, but other than that we really have no complaints about her. She loves the Lord and is waiting on God to bring her a husband, rather than shopping around for one. She does not see the point in dating in high school when you are not in the market for marriage. She wants her first kiss to be with the only man she'll be with.

Its only by the grace of God that she is so mature and Godly, because we mess up all the time.

We are so proud of Kaytlin! She's learning to play the guitar and is starting to play with the youth worship team. She's beautiful inside and out. She cannot wait until she gets her driver's licence, but she needs a job first. She has great friends, showing her wonderful taste! She also works very hard to get good grades, and we are continually proud and amazed.