Samantha had a birthday

Samantha turned 15.  

 I'm not even sure how that is possible.  Ok, so it happened over a month ago, but I am still catching up with life.  On her actual birthday, I took her shopping for clothes and to lunch.  Gracie went with us and we had a really nice day together, just the three of us.  That night, Nick and Cara took her to dinner and a movie for her birthday present from them.  Then, on the following Sunday, we had the rest of her birthday, which included chicken broccoli casserole, buster bar ice cream cake, and presents.

(Yes, I realize the candles say 186;  I just didn't have the right candles, so if you add 1+8+6 you get 15.)
:-)

A Few Samantha Facts

Samantha is my go-to girl.  If I want something done, she's the girl to make sure it happens.  If I go away for the day, she makes sure the laundry gets done, the kitchen gets cleaned up after meals, everybody does their chores, etc.
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Samantha is shy around non-family members, but she loves to giggle and is pretty silly at times.

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Samantha is very frugal and hardly ever spends money on herself, yet she is so generous to others.  She is forever offering to take the whole family out to pizza and has been known to donate her money to orphan adoption funds.  She also tries to sneak money in my purse when she knows I am broke.
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Samantha LOVES little children.  She is an excellent VBS volunteer, and all "her" children love her.  She is also very good with Gracie, and Jackson thinks she is pretty awesome too.
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Samantha is kind of the neighborhood spy.  She always knows what the neighbors are up to.
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Life wouldn't be the same around here without Samantha.  She is truly a blessing.

Here is a picture of Gracie, 3 weeks old, taken on Samantha's birthday