We recently settled in Snook, TX. It’s a little tiny town with a population of about 500 people near Bryan/College Station. I’ll update more on that in the near future.

Yesterday, Cherish turned 12! One of the things Snook is known for is Slovacek’s Sausage, so Cherish decided she wanted to try some kolaches from there. She chose strawberry, raspberry, cherry, apple and sausage filled kolaches.

We made Cherish a kolache stack and sang “Happy Birthday” to her. She blew out all twelve candles in one breath. The kolaches were so good that several kids said they are going to choose those over donuts for their birthdays, too.

After breakfast, Cherish opened gifts. Tapestry has been teaching Cherish to play ukulele, and Cherish has wanted her own ukulele for awhile. I got her the cutest one with the best reviews I could find. She loves it!
And this surfer swing we got her is a big hit with the whole family, young and old.

Cherish asked me to take her, Tapestry, Liberty and Jubilee to Mod Pizza and the mall.

If you’ve never been to Mod Pizza, it is worth trying! You choose what size pizza you want and go through the line picking toppings. We love going there, but it is pretty pricey for our whole family so we mainly go for special occasions.

We have hit the stage with our older girls where they just love going shopping at the mall.

I told Cherish she could pick an outfit, and I bought a long sleeved shirt for each of our ten kids. Cherish chose the cutest clothes!

If you have shopped with girls, you know how it is. They used some of their own money to buy some extra clothes and some jewelry, make-up and hair things from Claire’s.

I will say that our girls are pretty frugal and very thoughtful with how they spend their money. We don’t shop at the mall unless it’s a special occasion like a birthday, so this was so much fun for our older girls!

After shopping, the girls thought that ice cream for supper would be a good idea. It was a win for sure!

We headed back to the RV after ice cream. The girls showed their brothers and sisters all the stuff they bought, and we surprised the other kids with shirts. They were all excited.

Then, we all read Cherish what we had written her in her journal. And we ended the evening playing outside until about 10PM. Cherish had the best day, and we had a blast celebrating her!

Happy 12th birthday, Cherish Jael! ♥️ Cherish, you are just so sweet and lovable. You are easy-going and generally happy. You’ve always been athletic and enjoyed the great outdoors, and that hasn’t changed. You have followed in Manning and Tapestry’s footsteps and now love to read. You barter candy in exchange for reading Manning’s kindle as often as you can. You are a great pianist. I love hearing you play. You are petite and proud of it, which makes me happy that you embrace it. I think you are so darn cute, and I would not add an inch to you! 😍 You jump to play cards with me if I am looking for a game buddy. You love having conversations. You are very into fashion and are always dressed super stylish. You love dangly earrings. You enjoy styling hair and often have a line of sisters waiting to have their hair done by you. You are besties with Tapestry and Liberty, but you’ve always been one to play or hang out with any and all. You are sensitive to others’ feelings, and you are very empathetic. Love and compassion really wrap up who you are, which means Cherish is the perfect name for you! You are a precious daughter to me, Cherish, and I love and cherish you so very much! ♥️♥️♥️
