This sweet girl with the bright blue eyes and the strawberry blond hair is sixteen today! Happy Sweet Sixteen to our dear Juniper Lucy.

The baby of my “original four” is now a capable and accomplished young woman who does everything she does with excellence. It is a hard truth of raising children that just as they become mature, helpful human beings (and this happened at an unusually young age for June!), they also become in demand by the rest of the world, and I hardly ever get to see them. June is a busy girl these days!

She has a couple of weekly church babysitting jobs, and she also works two full days a week at my mom’s thrift store. In the first weekend the store was open last summer, they received a less-than-stellar review online that has now become family legend. My mom was working the register by herself for the first time that day, having had Junie by her side the first day, and she had to call Junie to ask for computer help. The customer, misunderstanding the situation, commented that, “the poor clerk (that is, my mom, the manager) had no idea how to work the register and had to call her boss (Junie, age 15)” (As an aside, it is also worth noting that I played the part of the boss’s “rude secretary” when the customer heard me on speaker phone say, “well, she can’t come help you right now. She hasn’t had lunch yet!” Oops!) In truth, Junie really does keep things running smoothly there, and all the customers love her.

At home June is a huge help to me and a fan favorite with the little kids. She spoils me by making me on-plan treats and meals (she has been doing the Trim Healthy Mama eating plan with me for about a year now), and she is quick to help me with an organizing task. She is often found in her room doing schoolwork with one or more small Youngs hanging out with her.

Juniper favors her British side, being, in general, one of our quieter and more reserved girls, but like her Daddy, she has an unexpected sense of humor and an infectious laugh. I love hanging out with her!

(Junie in China when we were adopting Lewis in 2015.)

June has a great eye for detail and creative skills in pretty much every area she turns her hand to. She is currently thinking she might like to pursue a career in architecture or interior design, but there is still plenty of time to decide. Whatever she does, she will do it with all her heart, she will do it with excellence, and she will use it to bless others.

Juniper, I’m thankful for who you are and all you do for our family (and that you are still willing to pose for me with every single juniper we come across!) I love you!