Beautiful Inside and Out - 12 Years Today

“Making the decision to have a child - it is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. ” - Elizabeth Stone

I can't recall where and when I heard that quote, but it is the truth if I ever spoke it children (to quote another wonderful woman, Mamaw Deaton).  Karson Ann Deaton celebrates her 12th birthday today and holds my heart - my beautiful daughter, both inside and out.  We share a special bond.  Some of my favorite times of the day are when she comes up to me from behind and puts her arms around my waist, hugs me, and just lingers there for a moment with her head on my back (the top half of my back, I might add - the girl is tall). I'm not sure how she has changed this much overnight.  I can barely get her hair in a ponytail because she's almost as tall as me.  Before too long, we will probably be sharing shoes (one size away).  Who is this person?  I look at her and can hardly believe she has grown right before my eyes.  She's almost a teenager and turning into this young woman with goals, dreams and passions.  Just this morning (her birthday day), she got up at 6:45 to get ready for school because she had to be there at 7:15 a.m. to work with her 6th grade showcase team.  She's stayed after school until 4:30 p.m. the last two days to work on both showcase and the student lighthouse team.  She was recently elected as the School Ambassador for 6th grade.  She travels to 212 Academy every Thursday (her second year) to be challenged academically and increase her level of thinking.  The girl works independently and receives high marks in everything.  To say she has set the bar high for her siblings, is an understatement.  She sets the bar for herself - no prompting needed from us.  She has truly exceeded any kind of expectation I ever had for her.  To top it all off, she is selfless - what a trait!  She's not concerned about what others think about her and likes to do her own thing.  Clothes and popularity aren't something she cares about yet.  She's not into boys and doesn't notice them staring at her (I do - yikes).  She's truly the total package.  If you can't brag about how awesome your child is in a blogpost, when can you, right?  I love her to pieces.

We've decided to do a simple party this year for her birthday - it's what she wanted. Mall and movies this Saturday night and Olive Garden for dinner. 

Thank you K for  making me a Mommy - I couldn't ask for a better daughter!  Love you!