Lauren's Journey into Adulthood

In honor of Lauren's 21st birthday today, I decided to "take a walk down memory lane."


I have been beyond blessed with our oldest child and only daughter!  She introduced me to the world of morning sickness, that somehow lasted all day for nearly 8 months with each of my children.

She took on the role of "guinea pig," as Michael and I delved into the world of parenting.  We read a lot and had a lot of theories on the "best" parenting methods and skills.  Some of them were only used on poor Lauren and others we "tweeked" with over the years for each of our boys.

She learned early on how to share her time with lots of boys, as Justin was born when she was just 21 months old.  She was a fabulous big sister!  The only negative I remember about her during those early years was the 3 week phase she went through of hitting her head against the wall and screaming during her nap times soon after Justin was born.

It was so uncharacteristic of her "easy-going and almost always compliant" personality.  We all lived through it, though, and were so thankful when one day she announced that, "I no cry [to]day.  I make Mommy happy."  And that was it - she went back to taking naps with no problems for another 3 years!

And she has continued to make my heart proud and happy, to say the least!

 Since she is our oldest child, I did not realize how easily she made the transition from early childhood to tween to teenage years.  She seriously never seemed to have a bad attitude or be in any way disrespectful or rude to me or our family.  She weathered those years beautifully.  

Her younger years were filled with writing contests, Wood County Fair entries, dancing and theater. She put her "all" into everything she did and excelled in so many areas!

 Her heart for others began to swell once our family became a licensed foster family when she was 10 years old.  She took the many family sacrifices in stride, and shared her room, her things, her time and her parents freely and graciously.

Little did we know at the time, but becoming a foster care family would impact Lauren and give her a passion for helping children.

Apart from being an amazing sister to our foster girls through the years, she also became a role model for the younger dancers at her studio.  She helped teach several classes there during her final two years of high school.  The girls just soaked up their time with her and upon graduation from high school I had several families tell me what a positive impact Lauren had on their daughters, not only in dance technique, but in relational skills for life, as well.

 I will forever cherish her years of dancing!  She grew to be such an amazing, graceful and beautiful dancer.

                                              (Click to watch Lauren's senior solo)



Tap Trio 2010
(Click to watch Lauren's tap trio)


Once she moved to Akron for college, she continued having an impact on girls.  She helped out in several student ministries through The Chapel in Akron, working with some underprivileged children and teens.  The past two summers she went to Thailand for two weeks to work with refugees and orphans on the Thailand-Burma border.  She then continued her work in Akron, working with Burmese refugees in the city.

She has developed curriculum for independent living skills for the older teens, as well as taught a cooking class for these girls.  She has generously given of her time and her talents, as well as her hard earned finances.  Last year she found out that some of the girls could not afford their school supplies and were attending school everyday without them. So Lauren took them shopping and purchased their supplies for them.

Then she found out that one of the girls needed glasses but her family was not in a position to get them for her.  So Lauren took her to the eye doctor and paid "out of pocket" for her to get the glasses she wanted.  Lauren, a very hard and conscientious worker, is about to graduate from college debt-free. But she never gives a "second thought" to using her own resources to help a child in need.

She will soon become a licensed Social Worker and has already begun her internship at Summit County Children's Services.  She loves her time there and is soaking up everything she can about child welfare. After she graduates in May, she plans to take an accelerated 10 month program to get her Masters in Social Work.  She will do this while working full time, hopefully for Summit County Children's Services again.

She has become so good at "wearing many hats," a trait she probably got from her father. She somehow manages to do all these things with excellence, balancing so much so beautifully!

It would be an understatement to say that I am proud of her.  She is such an amazing woman and I feel so blessed to call her my daughter!  In some ways it is hard to believe that she is already 21 years old!  But then again, she is mature, wise and gracious beyond her years.

Happy 21st Birthday, Lauren!  I love you more than words could ever express!