Banks Blab: Happy 12th Birthday Halle

Dear Halle,
What a special birthday this is! You are now officially a Young Woman and I couldn’t be more excited for you. This is a big step in growing up and you are ready to take it on.
This has been a big year! Your transition to middle school has been flawless. You love your classes and are surrounded by such fun, good friends. Band and Science are two of your favorite classes.
You continue to be such a positive light in our family. Your brothers adore you and I can always count on you to help me. This year you’ve taken on a lot of babysitting responsibility and I’m not sure who loves it more—Dad and I because we can go out whenever we want, or you because you get to be in charge of the boys Smile

You’ve also babysat for a few of the neighbors and love the chance to earn a little cash.
It’s also been a tough year with your Crohn’s diagnosis this summer. It was so hard to watch you be so sick and to lose so much weight. I know you were in a lot of pain and really miserable. But it was also inspiring to watch you steel yourself and meet your challenges head on. You put on such a brave face and hardly ever complained. I am in awe of your strong and faithful spirit. When Dad and I were leaving for Germany both you and I were pretty sad. We were snuggled up in the bed in the basement of G&G Banks’ house and we decided to say a prayer together. It was one of the most powerful moments of my life. We pleaded with Heavenly Father that he would take special care of you while I was away and that you could be well. I felt such peace and knew you were going to be ok while I was away from you. It was still hard to leave but we both put our trust in Heavenly Father and he came through for us.
We also experienced a miracle as your body began to heal without the aid of medication. We still don’t know why it happened but we are so grateful for everyday that you are healthy. Always remember to take care of your body, because, as we’ve learned this year, good health is such a gift.
You love soccer and I was one proud coach/mama when you scored your first goal this year. I love watching you give your all and I love when we could feel so proud of the effort we put forth as a team. Go DRAGONS!
Some of your favorite things include: Studio C, blueberry muffins, Navajo tacos, reading, (I asked for your favorite and you said, “Gosh…that’s like asking me if I like breathing air. I could never pick) and Princess the pink seal. I love coming in to check on you before I go to bed and seeing you snuggled up with Princess. She goes everywhere we do and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
My favorite time with you is our daily walks to the bus. We just chat along the way and I love those few moments when it is just us.
Halle, keep being the kind, level headed, fun girl that you are. As with every year, I know this year will bring so many new adventures and I can’t wait to see where life leads us.
LOVE YOU MOST!
Mom
This year was a special bday for our Halle girl. I got tickets to the Lion King for me, her, Sadie and Grace. We went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, saw the Lion King, and then spent the night at the Denver Marriott. It was pure magic. I could hardly watch the stage because I loved watching the girls so much. They were on the edge of their seats for the whole first act and the wonder in their eyes was way better than anything happening on stage. Halle brought her Pumpkin Pizza Palace $ and bought a baby Simba doll. He is pretty darn cute and looks just like the prop they used in the play.

We saved most of our cheesecake for after the show and it was pretty darn fun to eat cheesecake at midnight in bed.

The next morning we grabbed a quick breakfast and then the girls went swimming at the pool. The water was warm and I think they could have stayed all day. It was a perfect 24 hours. The girls made an iMovie on the way home. I’ll see if I can attach it here.

And that was the weekend before her birthday! The day of her birth was also pretty awesome. We rushed to open presents before she had to catch the bus. She got new doll bunkbeds, ANOTHER American Girl doll pet, Scooter, from G&G Cornell, Anne of Green Gables the Sequel from G&G Banks, and joy of all joys—a cell phone.