Let me start with my oldest, Felica Lee...
Felica is the most amazing teenager I could have ever asked for. I am so lucky she isn't the typical teen nor is she anything at all like I was at her age!! She is so cool! She has a wicked sense of humor, is such a huge help around the house and and amazing big sister! She is finishing up grade nine and is headed to the 'big' high school next year. Felica is huge into fashion and wants to be a designer when she grows up. She can belt out amazing grace like a pro and bakes way better than I do!!
This year has been a very hard year for her and has showed incredible grace for a young lady her age facing such crappy cards that were dealt. In January she lost a very close friend to cancer and just a few weeks ago her father took his own life.
Watching her deal with her fathers death has been a huge sense of pride for me. I never would have been able to handle it the way she has. She understands that it was him and his issues that caused him to do what he did and it does not reflect on her and her dreams. In hindsight she says she saw clues and hints to what he was going to do and even if she saw the clues sooner nothing she could have done would have prevented him from doing it. So much maturity and common sense for such a young age. I do believe that the strength she has shown is directly related to watching her sister Katie go through what she went through.
Which brings me to my other daughter.......
Katelyn (aka Katie) is 8 going on 16! She is such a character and has the most vibrant personality! Once she gets something into her head there is no stopping her determination to finish it! From a puzzle to an idea she needs to finish no matter the cost! I do think she has herself a mild case of ocd. Some days it is all I can do to just have her sit still. She is a chatterbox who doesn't even stop talking in her sleep. Amazing really considering the challenges she faced at such a young age.
At 17 months Katie was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor called medulloblastoma. After six months of high dose chemo she was declared cancer free and has remained that way ever since! While treatments were successful she didn't get out of her journey unscathed. She has developmental delays which causes her to socially act and look longer than she is. However academically she is above age level. Go figure! She has hearing loss in one ear that she has an aid for and her eye sight seems to be deteriorating. Her speech isn't perfect but it is better than it was and her balance will never be perfect but she tries with all her might and joined the cross country running team. About six months ago she started growth hormones and is finally growing a tad taller!
Life with Katie will never be the kind of perfect we expected but it is our kind of perfect.
So those are my girls. I love them both with all y heart and am so very proud to have them call me mom. I am not to sure what I did right in some past life to have such wonderful girls but I did and I thank God everyday that I have them to share this slice of life with.
