They're growing up.

I'm not sure how God accomplishes this, but our kids are growing up. It's fascinating to see them develop, learn and change. It's fun to watch their excitement and hard to see them learn in their dissapointments.

Justin is 6 now, in grade 1. He enjoys school...I never liked school. A few weeks ago we were listening to CFAM to see if school was on or off. "Is my school closed?" he asked. "No. School is still on." "Yessss!!" he replied. (If I had done this, my parents would have rushed me to the hospital to have me checked out). It's fun to see Justin enjoying his friends and classmates. He's very social. Justin is a little man with agressive play habbits but with a soft heart. I love to listen to Justin pray. I'm always amazed at the depth of his prayers, prayers that are not copies of what we pray but prayers that reflect his own gratitude and concern.

Kaitlyn is 3 going on 15. She's a girl. She likes to dress up, she likes to be cute. When she get's dressed up for church on Sunday she likes to present herself to Dad. Dad enjoys approving of his little Cutester. I think people view Kate as being older than she is because her speech is very advanced for her age. Though she pretends to be shy sometimes, in reality none of our kids are. Katie is very bold and has a powerful personality. We're excited to see how God will use her in the future. In the present it creates regular showdowns when deciding "who's the boss". Dad vs Cutester can look very similar to planets colliding.

Charity is our resident 1-1/2 year old goof. She's at that stage where she's either sleeping or "on the move". For quite a while we've noticed that Charity has a twinkle in her eye (I can never figure it out, she's got very dark brown eyes that are...bright) and a smirk in one corner of her mouth. Over the past two months or so I've heard Charity say "Daddy" to her mom (when I was out of sight), but she would never call me Daddy to my face. "Can you say "Daddy"? I ask. "Mama" she replies...every time. When we're praying together, often she'll say "Amma" (her version of "Amen") a few times before we're done. I guess she's not a fan of long winded prayers.

I'm blessed that I can honestly say that I like my children. I like talking with them and being with them. I enjoy their characters and personalities. I find it exciting to watch them turn into something new...daily. In the past I've been scared of praying for faith because with faith comes trials. I'm seeing that the benefit of faith far outweighs any trials that God may put into our lives. My prayer for my kids is that they will become people of faith and people of prayer.

CP