Talia's Twelve

Happy New Year!  Merry Christmas!  Much has happened in the Wheeler household since last I blogged, so let me rewind all the way to mid-November when our Talia Lily turned twelve.  We love this gal so much that time ought to hold still just so we can celebrate.  Unsurprisingly, life keeps spinning anyway.  Knowing the day would be busy, we dined on monkey bread for breakfast to make it special.

Despite an evening filled with Girl Scouts and Brooklyn's school musical (The Adams Family), we squeezed in a few moments for gifts.  Talia seemed pretty excited about her new ukulele.

She was equally excited about her Kindle.


Spark joined us for the celebration since November 15th is his year-mark with our family as well.  I love how Annika is intently petting her stuffed guinea pig while Jason holds the real deal.

We held off on birthday pie until Justin, Brianna, and Ruby could join us.  Here we are counting candles.

Ablaze with joy.

Perhaps the best part of Talia's birthday was keeping her home from school the very next morning so that she could go to the Salt Lake Temple.  It was such a special experience for Jason and I to accompany her to the baptistry where she got to perform proxy baptisms and confirmations for deceased ancestors on the other side of the veil.  As almost no one else was in the baptistry on this weekday morning, it was a beautifully personal experience.  Little did we know that this twelfth birthday pilgrimage would be one of the last.  Just a few weeks later, the Church announced a change in policy.  Beginning in 2019, youth will be able to do temple baptisms starting in January of the year they turn twelve, meaning that Eli will attend when he is eleven and a few months.

Following our temple trip, we headed over to Kneaders for some tasty french toast.

Next up, a quick stroll around City Creek.  I dunno, she doesn't look very Wicked to me.

Somehow our beautiful Talia grew up before I was ready.  A couple Sundays ago, she gave a remarkably insightful talk in sacrament meeting, explaining her experience reading the Book of Mormon and how it had impacted her life.  Listening to her speak, I was both inspired and a little regretful that this spunky little gal who used to sneak out of the house to steal popsicles from Brittney had matured so quickly. 

Talia, you are creative, intelligent, motivated, and most-importantly, kind. We love the passion with which you seize life, giving your best to everything you do, whether it's learning a new song on the piano, delving into a book, or crocheting a new project. 

As the Primary song leader, I may be sad to see you graduate to Young Women's, but as your mother, I am so grateful to know that you will always be part of our family.  Happy Birthday!