Our older daughter turned fifteen on Sunday.  We went to church in the morning and then came home for some lunch and gift giving.  During the afternoon we watched the weather for a break in the ever present rain so we could squeeze in a bit of tennis.  After we had played  for a short time the black clouds rolled in and the rain started falling.  On the way home we spotted a cricket match, a fairly rare event around here.  Andrew stopped and chatted to the spectators for a while to find out that the teams were made up of Sri Lankans;  Ottawa vs. Montreal.

At L15’s request we watched a couple of episodes of MasterChef Australia before our own MasterChef cooked up Shrimp Two Ways.  L15 had asked for a shrimp pasta sauce for dinner which Andrew cooked but also made a skewered shrimp entree on salad greens.  Both were delicious.  We finished with a raspberry swirl cheesecake and time to watch another couple of episodes of MasterChef.   I did mention we are a little addicted to it didn’t I.  Not only has it changed our approach to cooking, it has added to our vocabulary also.  We no longer talk about serving the dinner, instead we “plate up”.  We sit down and deliver critiques on the food in front of us, encouraging each other to ” take it to the next level”

When we were about to begin watching L15 handed Andrew and I a gift, which was surprising, it wasn’t our birthday after all.  Inside there was a beautiful card thanking us for our love and support over the last  fifteen years.  In the gift bag was a dvd, made by L15, featuring pictures of her from birth until now, with the Taylor Swift song, The Best Day, playing in the background.  I was overwhelmed.  Neither of us had any idea she had been making the dvd over the past few months.  She found all the photos she needed and did all the work on a friend’s computer so we would have no idea.   She  gathered up photos a few at a time whenever she knew she and her friend P would be spending a few hours together without me around.  Apparently it got tricky a few times explaining to me why she had to go over there, not stay here.  The end result is beautiful and as you can imagine made me cry.  It is not just the photos and the memories they evoke that mean so much to me but also her desire to thank us in such a special way.

Now as always she continues to bring us joy and bless our family.