Mary

Today is Mary's 11th Birthday!

She was our 15th grandchild and 6th granddaughter.

Mary is a very important part of this large family

and a very important part of this beautiful family

I wrote about Mary on her birthday last year and visiting that site will take you to links to all her previous posts and between last year's post and the previous ones, there are lots of pictures and stories about Mary through the years.  So I'll just post a few pictures here

and talk about what's been going on in Mary's life during the past year.  First of all, during this year, she started 5th grade, did an awesome job of it, and then graduated from 5th grade.  During her graduation ceremony, she was one of four girls chosen to give a speech which she delivered beautifully.

Here's the hat she designed and decorated herself.

One of the highlights of 5th grade for Mary was painting the set for a play put on by her school.  She, two of her friends, and her art teacher did the entire project.  Mary is very artistic and it was obvious from an early age that she would be

and why she chose this Christmas present for herself during our holiday visit in Gulf Shores.

Her very eventful fifth grade year culminated with an overnight field trip to Chicago last Spring where she visited Willis Tower and its Skydeck, Shedd Aquarium, Navy Pier, a boat tour, and best of all Medieval Times.

 Also her trip to Gulf Shores for the holidays was among the highlights of her year

where she acted as Master of Ceremonies for the kids' talent show

but that trip in no way diminished her love for the trip last summer around this time and the trip this past July to visit her best friend cousin, Tessa.

Also this year, Mary played soccer and absolutely loved it.  Here she is practicing on her own

And now Mary is looking forward to starting Middle School in a few days.  She'll be traveling farther each day but will be going to the same school as big brother Ethan.

We're excited for her and looking forward to what the next year will bring.  And, as usual, we must add a few facts about Mary that may not be completely apparent here.  First of all, she's sweet, thoughtful, and loving.

And she's smart, conscientious, helpful, cheerful, and just an all-around great girl!  So we're wishing her the happiest of birthdays and a year that surpasses all others but is not half as great as the many more to come.  Happy Birthday, Mary!  We love you so much!