Jenna's 17th

Today is Jenna's 17th birthday!

Jenna was our 10th grandchild and 4th granddaughter!

She's an important part of this large family,

and this smaller but still large family,

and this wonderful family!

I wrote about Jenna last year on her birthday in this post and visiting there will lead you to links to all her previous posts.  So I'll just post a few pictures here to show how she's changed 'through the years'.

and talk about what's been going on in her life during the previous year.

and it's been a busy year for her for sure.  First of all, she's worked on her pitching all year.

And her hard work paid off because she helped her team win the District Championship for the first time in the history of the school.  And for her contributions, she was awarded all-District, all-Conference, and all-Region!

which she couldn't have done without the help and support from her biggest and most loyal fan!

And the skills she honed also lead to giving a few pitching lessons of her own this year.

And although she excelled in softball, she was no slouch in golf either.  She was the captain of her golf team and missed going to state by only 2 strokes.

and which lead to some part time work at the local golf course where she was even able to work with Jeremy a few times.

Also this year she started the Health and Science class at Saline High School where she commutes each day; and the last part of the year she will be working in a nursing home.

Another highlight this year is that she was elected to the Junior homecoming court.

which resulted in her being required to wear her sash to school all week

and riding in the homecoming parade.

On a sad note, she said good-bye to two beloved rottweilers that were part of the family as long as Jenna could remember.

But on a happier note, she enjoyed two camping trips with her family -

and on one of them she was able to take her best friend, Kaylee.

and where she could indulge her love for fishing and boating!

She also spent the holidays in Gulf Shores this year where she was able to spend good time visiting with her best friend/cousin, Anna.

So Jenna has had a wonderfully busy year but there's so much more to say about her than just what she's been doing and accomplishing.  Because the most important things about her don't have anything to do with all that.

What's most important about Jenna is her sweet personality and her outstanding character.  Jenna is a friend to everyone - young and old alike.

She's kind, considerate, smart, and helpful.

and never has an unkind word to say about anybody.  For all these reasons, and so many more, we could not be more proud of her or love her more.  So Happy Birthday, Jenna!  We're hoping it's your best one yet but only half as great as the many, many more to come!