Katelynn's On A Roll

Katy has had a great few weeks here and we're just so proud of her and happy for her.

First, and best of all, she called me on September 22 (or maybe it was the 23rd,) with the exciting news that she had passed the final piece of the CPA exam! That holy grail of the accounting world is hers! Hallelujah!! Now she just has to fill out all the paperwork and wait for her license to show up in the mail! She already has enough billable hours to qualify so she's in. Wahoo!!

That was an early birthday present as she celebrated her 23rd birthday on September 26th. She and Nikki both came home and we were joined by Grandma and Grandpa to celebrate both the birthday and passing the exam. It is hard for me to believe that it was 23 years ago that she was born. It seems such a short time since I was holding my tiny 3-pound, 2-oz. preemie, struggling to imagine her as a 5-yr-old, as a 10-yr-old, etc., let alone as a full-fledged adult making her own way in this world. She loves the Lord and follows his leading, she loves her family and comes home as often as she can to build a solid relationship with her little sisters, she works hard and has negotiated her way into adulthood with maturity and wisdom beyond her years. We heartily thank the Lord every day for blessing us with such a child.

But that's not all! This last week, when she arrived back in her office after being out of town for awhile on audits, she found she'd received two nominations for "peak performer" by two of the partners. One was for being instrumental in bringing new business to the firm, a large real estate company; and the other for going the extra mile on a tough audit. She received a nifty little trophy for each nomination and is in the running for "top performer" at the end of the quarter. That one comes with a expensive dinner out as a prize! Great job Katelynn!!!!

But wait, there's more. . .(is this sounding like an infomercial yet?) Yesterday she decided to check out the grand opening of the new Goodwill Store in her neighborhood because everything was 50% off. Well, what good tightwad wouldn't find that tempting? So she walks in, coincidentally, 5 minutes before they are to do the drawing for the grand prize of the day, a brand new, 32" flat screen television. I was talking to her on the phone as she filled out the entry form and she made some comment such as, "yeah, like I'd win, there are hundreds of forms in the barrel." She hung up and called me back 5 minutes later with "Guess what just happened?" She won that television set!!!! I squealed so loudly that Mara ran to the office where I was working in the basement to make sure everything was okay. We never win stuff like this in our family! So next weekend when Nikki and I go to her house for our upcoming scrapping/beading retreat, we get to watch movies on her brand new television! I can't wait!

I love when God gives these little gifts in life for no particular reason. Did Katelynn need a new television? Not really, the hand-me-down from her Uncle Tom was working just fine and after all does anyone really need a television at all? But was it just plain fun to win it? Absolutely!

Keep it up, Katelynn. Can't wait to hear what happens this week! And now I'll stop embarrassing you for the whole world to see. (Don't worry, I'm pretty sure only a microscopic percentage of the world even knows this blog exists, let alone reads it.) I know you hate when people point out your successes, but you knew I'd have to do it, didn't you? I love you kiddo!