June 20, 2025
Dear Eva,
Happy 12th birthday! What a year for an amazing young lady! It is wonderful to celebrate you together today! You are such a delight!
You have such a kind and considerate and empathetic heart. Friends and family are so important to you, and you are always looking for opportunities to connect in meaningful ways. You have almost completed your second year of Gymnasium, and although it is really a challenging school, you are succeeding. You have become a strong presenter and definitely value your friendships at school above all. Studying or doing homework with a friend is always preferred, and you are often setting up friend visits or getting invited to friends’ homes. We are so grateful for your big group of girl friends at school!
This year, we made the decision to switch churches and made the final switch in December. That has understandably been a difficult change for you, no longer having weekly connections with your three besties from the former church. You attended Jungscharlager (youth camp) with your friends last summer, and although the friend time was great, you decided you were done with week-long camping! (We are proud of you for realizing this!) We attended our new church’s retreat in May, and that was a really special time to connect and bond with the other teens and pre-teens. You had a wonderful time!
Family highlights this year were family meals together, evening reading, sporadic game times. Tiger Lily cuddles remain at the top of your list. In August we spent almost a month in London, Kansas, and Colorado. It was really special to see the Bryans, Grandpa and Grandma, and the Shaffers, and vacationing in Colorado was wonderful bonding time, especially over board games, crafts and puzzles. The Bryans also visited for Fall break, and then we spent Christmas and New Years in London and Kansas as well, followed by Easter in London with Opa and Oma able to join too! So many travels! In May/June, we flew as a family to Amsterdam for a GEM conference on the seaside. You really connected well with the girls your age, especially Annalese from Romania.
You enjoy finding ways to express your love of creativity and color. You enjoy singing and dancing and drawing. You attended a pottery painting summer day camp last year and will do it again next month. You joined a Mödling dance studio for a weekly musical jazz class and had a great performance this month! You love expressing creativity through clothing, hair, crafts and music. Oh, and rearranging room furniture, or as in the case this year, swapping rooms! You had a try-out last month with a vocal coach at the local music school, and you were invited to join the choir and work with her individually as well! She said you have a really special voice, and she really wants to work with you.
It is such a joy to us to see your heart expressed in such beautiful and unique-to-you ways. You are so deeply and fully loved by God, dear Eva.
And you are so loved by us! Happy Birthday!
Love, Mom and Dad
12-Year-Old Eva
