We have a 15 year old!

I remember when Jordan was first born and the overwhelming feelings I had not ever felt before. I remember thinking in those first few weeks after bringing her home that I never wanted to see her hurt, embarrassed, confused, sad, lonely and a bunch of other normal human emotions that would be a rude awakening for her, and me as her mom. Along with those thoughts came the thoughts about never wanting to send her off to kindergarten, or have her first overnight away from me, or face another authority figure without having me there to intercede for her. But I would always comfort myself by thinking that those milestones are years away and at the time it felt like we would not have to cross them any time soon, so why worry? I would tell myself to enjoy the moment of having her a snuggly little baby that I could control all of what came into her little sphere of life. (Remember I was not a Christian at the time so I had very few categories in my brain for anything other than what I felt to be true and that there was a Sovereign outside of myself that actually had her life planned out better than I did.)

Anyways, fast forward 15 years later and she has faced all those milestones in her life (and obviously she survived) and then some, and she has done it with grace! She has become a wonderful thinking young woman who is so helpful around the house and is not afraid to take charge when necessary. She is learning the importance of purity and has pursued that at her own initiative after completing a Lies Young Woman Believe study. She has started her own blog about faith and her life through her eyes. She has chosen through prayer and her own study of the Word to initiate steps of faith regarding taking Communion and believers baptism. She initiates servant hood at our church on a consistent basis and has stepped in and helped out where needed. One of her constant questions to me at home before she heads off to read or do some sort of photography related activity is "Mom, what can I help you with?" She loves to read and can speed through books like no other! She has taken a serious interest in photography and has even recently been asked to photograph a wedding where the photographer did not show up and she was there helping out at the (our) church. She is saving up for a really nice camera now and hoping to have that within the next year or so. Tomorrow she will take the plunge, literally, when she is baptised in the really cold waters at Serpant Park in front of her family, church, and friends. A process she initiated and did all the work for. She has enjoyed this year getting to know friends through ultimate Frisbee games and Dairy Queen hang outs after. I have watched her do all this in the face of loneliness and discouragement of what it means to walk in faith, particularly small town where options on friendships are limited and exclusive at times. She at times will chose to play with a one, three, five, and six year old instead of spend time looking at pinterest or reading or other hobbies that I am sure would be much more interesting. Especially when hanging out means doing it for free and when changing diapers are involved! We celebrated her birthday at home with spaghetti and better than "swimming" cake. Yes, that is what we call it on our home! Grandma Karen, Uncle Aaron and Anna also came over to help celebrate. (If I thought it was nerve racking thinking about sending her off on the bus by herself I had no idea what was coming now that we are looking at drivers ed courses, yikes!)

Here are some pictures on September 8, not in any particular order!

Pregnancy related, everything looks good and healthy. I heard baby 7's heartbeat on Thursday and it was 150 beats per minute which is good. We are 17 weeks along and I am feeling so much better. Life is finally returning to normal again, whatever normal is. At least I can function normally, maybe that is a better way to put it.

We are in the grove for homeschooling and Gracie is a super motivated learner so that helps. Jordan and Taylor also are very independent learners and that helps as well. We went to a football game last night and it was so fun. It was a typical Friday night football game in northern Minnesota. The storm clouds were rolling in, it was cold and sprinkling and the anticipation of a nice warm bed was so fun to think about. We left in the third inning though since we were getting beat 28-0 and teeth were starting to chatter. The momentum to stay and wait for the adrenaline of a close game to kick in and keep us warm had been long lost. Sorry C-I Rangers!

Ministry. I will post about later this week. We do however have a baptismal service tomorrow and the two people getting baptised are none other than Jordan and Taylor! I know it doesn't mean we have arrived and the battle is over, but I am very thankful for where I have seen the Lord work in our families life! There is nothing that serves me as a mom better than to watch our kids take initiation with the things of the Lord and being able to encourage them in their faith. You can pray for their courage as they are both a little nervous.

Love in Christ,
Miriam