Ahem. I’m hoping no one noticed an entire year flying by in between the first seven of my birthday posts and (what will hopefully be) the rest. Such a lot has happened since last summer that I thought I should pick up where I left off with the updating, so without further ado…

Happy (belated) 19th birthday, Bea! This girl has grown and done so much since my last update five years ago, that I hardly know where to begin! She’s been on two six-week summer mission trips with Teen Missions International: the first to Costa Rica in 2023 and then last summer she went to Cambodia. Both times we missed her like crazy, but I was so proud of her. Plus it was good preparation for what came next.

In 2025 Bea graduated from our homeschool and started college at Delaware Valley University, about a 45-minute drive from home. The plan was that she would live with my sister in her new family home during the week (just 15 minutes from school) and the spend most weekends at home. What in fact happened was that my sister and her family are *still* (a whole year later!) living in their old house while renovating the new one. At first, it seemed like they would be moving in within a couple of months, so my incredibly brave, newly 18-year-old baby moved into a creepy old farmhouse *by herself* and started college (she did have friendly neighbors – and by November a sister – just next-door in the adjacent apartments, so it felt very safe, but it was still a very strange situation!) And there she stayed for her whole first year of college.

Despite her unusual circumstances, Bea flourished at DelVal. She is majoring in Conservation and Wildlife Management, and she worked in the small animal lab this year. She studied hard and made a million friends, including one I am allowed to introduce you to with permission from both of them. (Spoiler: it’s not the frog!)

This is Bea’s boyfriend, Michael. They met at Cru, a Christian club on campus, during her first semester at DelVal. Michael is a horticulture major and hard-core plant enthusiast. He shares his extensive plant knowledge on his YouTube Channel Plant Genius. Here he is showing off an avocado (persea americana) that he won for Bea at the fair. We like him 🙂

Bea has also been working at my mom’s thrift store, Blue Tree Thrift, along with Juniper. When they aren’t keeping the store running smoothly or chatting with customers, they love to play dress-up for the store’s social media accounts.

Some things never change!

Bea continues to be the life of the party in our home. She brings the laughter and joy (and a few strong opinions) and keeps everyone in line (or tries to at least!) I am reluctantly getting used to the frequent hello-and-goodbye of having young adult children, but I’ll be honest: I am not at all looking forward to school starting up again in the Fall!

Bea, sometimes when I look at old pictures of you, I miss being able to squish those cheeks, but I love how you have grown into exactly the person you have always been. Your laugh is just as infectious, your zeal for what is right just as strong, and your love of life and people and Jesus just as genuine. It is an honor (and an awful lot of fun) to be your mom. Happy birthday!