Kara is 29!

It's hard for me to believe, but my baby is 29. She's accomplished some good things in that time span. She graduated high school at 16 and college at 19. She's been married for over 10 years. Those are all good things, but the best thing she's done? That's easy. She gave me four very wonderful grandchildren.

I can see how this post could devolve into a tribute to my grandchildren whom I adore. However, this is a birthday post about my daughter, Karoline.

What do I admire about my daughter?

* Kara puts her family first. It's not easy staying home with four young children. Many woman won't do it.

* Kara helps out with her grandmother. Kara does more for my mother than I do. She's an exceptional granddaughter.

* Kara homeschools Bentley, Jake and Viva. Homeschooling is hard work and requires daily commitment.

* Kara is a good researcher. Maybe a little too good? (Just joking sweetie!)

* Kara will take charge when needed. Often in life you need a leader and most of us don't volunteer for that job.

* Kara has fun cooking and baking. She says she likes laundry. (That's just odd!) It's good when you enjoy everyday tasks because they need doing...every day.

* Kara is a planner. She accomplishes more because she plans ahead. (That's how she graduated college in three years.)

* Kara likes her children. Not all mothers like their children. (Isn't that sad and crazy?)

* Kara is a good mother. Kara works hard to make life awesome for Bentley, Jake, Viva, and Lincoln.

* Kara is an optimistic realist. She's got a good grasp of what's possible and what's not.

* Kara enjoys life. Not every minute of it, but usually she's of good cheer.

* Kara is a most excellent daughter. I am blessed to be her mother.

Does Kara have any faults? A few. Shall I share one or two?

* Kara doesn't like Legos. She just tolerates them.

* Kara has an obsession with kitchen gadgets, cookware, and cookbooks. As large as our kitchen is, we're running out of space.

* Kara uses too many commas. (That’s just my opinion.)

* Kara is not a morning person. Never has been. Never will be.

* Kara reads too fast. It's annoying to us slower readers.

* Kara is too efficient at some tasks. It makes the rest of us look like deadbeats. That's just not polite, is it?

Happy Birthday Kara! I hope you had a great day.