All About Adrienne

Adrienne is my oldest and she never ceases to amaze me. She is a wonderful daughter, very helpful around the house, she is a great big sister, she works hard at her job and she is going to school full time and then some! I am so proud of her! I love having her in our home. We are very blessed that she is living with us while attending her first couple years of college.

In December Richard and I had the opportunity to get away for three nights to the beach. Little a & j were still in school so Adrienne volunteered to play mommy while we were gone. She got them up and out the door to school. She made lunches, fed them dinner and even took them out for ice cream. For Christmas she made Richard and I a very special gift. She had a photo shoot with her siblings while we were gone and had a beautiful collage made featuring each of my sweet kiddos! Not only is she willing and happy to help with the little kids, they absolutely adore her! I don't know what will happen when she decides to venture out in the world on her own, but hopefully we still have some time with her here at home.

Adrienne and I are both going to school full time this year, but while I am taking the bare minimum three classes, Adrienne is taking four and last term, with 15 credits, she got straight A's! Anyway, we filled out our FAFSA's and I was certain we would both qualify for financial aid grants. Well, it did not work out that way and because she did not want to start out her adult life in debt, Adrienne turned down all loan offers for the year. Luckily she worked lots and lots of hours over the summer and last term to save up money. She has paid her own way and has enough saved away to get her through this term. I have felt very bad that we are not in a better position to help her out with her expenses, but we are giving her a place to live and food to eat and by taking a couple classes together we share on the book expenses. Her internship at Intel ends in a couple of weeks and jobs are hard to come by. She is hopeful that she can find some sort of part time work and continue to save away for next year. By the way, if any of you reading this need to get away from your kids for a weekend, give Adrienne a call! She is great with kids and could use the funds for her education!

As I mentioned, Adrienne is working at Intel for two more weeks, and has been there for a year now. It has not always been the easiest work and she has come home frustrated on many occasions. But she has stuck with it, working long hours. I am so proud of her! As my first child, it has been my pleasure to watch her grow and learn and develop into such a strong, independent woman. I have every confidence that Adrienne can and will succeed at everything she sets her mind to! I love my daughter and feel so inspired by her!