Happy 19th Birthday, Courtney!!!

For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him.

~ 1 Samuel 1:27 ~

***Some of our favorite highlights over the past nineteen years of watching you grow***

  • Your begging me to let you {five} and Cammie {eight} be in the VFW beauty pageant that you insisted you were going to win but would be happy for the winner  if you didn’t. Your parting words to me when you did not win—”You should’ve told them people your little girl wanted to win a TRO-PHY!”
  • Princess dress that you and Poppy insisted I let you wear to the store with him and the sweet lady that stopped him in the store because she was speechless over your beauty.
  • Embracing your lack of cooking skills even if it results in a broken bowl, huge mess and a kitchen that smells like burnt popcorn from your attempt at Easy Mac minus water.
  • Lessons from Nana: “Courtney, you can’t always be first and you can’t always win. And unless you accept that you won’t be happy.” Your response: “You’re right. I’m just not happy.”
  • Watching you as little sister and big sister, sandwiched in between. Knowing your role even when you’re in the middle. Embracing, though it’s sometimes hard, the little sister who takes up so much of our time as well as your nephew who takes up so much of your big sister’s time.
  • Trading the Princess dresses for Prom dresses.
  • Learning even through heartache that He will never break your heart.
  • Your laugh and your practical joke sense of humor and even greater—your smile and your ability to light up the room with it.
  • License to drive in spite of . . .
  • Garage damage from lessons learned in parking too close. Repeat.
  • Driving off with the gas pump stuck in your gas tank, slamming on breaks, jumping out of car freaking out because the car “might blow up.”
  • Your amazing ability to be the only person we know who could get stuck in a car wash.
  • Your ability to remain calm in the worst of circumstances.  Oops! Wrong person!
  • Hitting your big sister’s car then being livid with her because her car was parked behind yours.
  • Paying your own car insurance!!! {Dear State Farm Agent, This would make an awesome commercial!}
  • Acceptance at LSU.
  • Your determination to push through when life isn’t going according to your five year plan.
  • Your heart of repentance when you realize you’re wrong even if it takes a while. {wink}
  • Your love and compassion for your family.
  • Your heart that follows hard after God. Never stop!!!
  • Watching you grow in grace, learning from all of the above life lessons that… sometimes being second can be just as hard as being last but that’s okay. His plans are far greater than any plan any of us could imagine for you. And paying your own car insurance greatly improves driving skills.

We love you more than chocolate, Diet Coke and low insurance premiums!!!

Always,

your biggest fan!

Keep on shining…

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

~ Matthew 5:16 ~