Seventeen

Time flies.  My surprise baby is now seventeen.  She has become a delightful spunky girl.  She is in her senior year in high school and in her last effort  of putting herself into the next level of education with the hopes that she will land in a university of her liking.  It seems only only last year when we moved to El Dorado Hills.  I was heavily pregnant.  She was born when our house was fresh and new - the walls were stark white and our backyard was mainly dirt and rock and few tumble weeds.  It was shortly after she was born when we started having our backyard landscaped, that I remember holding her swaddled in my arm as I gave directions to the landscapers and carpenters.  Now she is a smart self-driven person who does things in her unique ways of achieving her goals.  This girl is good at aiming her goals in what I would say steep angles and she hits them most of the time.  At seventeen she's driving herself to her band activities and leading the snare-drum line being the center snare drummer. 

She is her own person - so different from her siblings in many ways.  Well, all my kids are unique. The only consistent thing  about all of them is the way we raised them.  But even so, we (the parents) who raised them got older over time and the way we did things with our children also changed.  The chemistry and composition of the family also changed as the children got older.  So therefore, there is no such thing as raising children in the same way.  And not to mention God's design that made each person to be different.  

It could be lonely being the last child at home because there are fewer people who would be cheering you on your birthday.  Such is the case with Miriam.  However, today Brahms surprised us all with a visit to come and celebrate with his sister.  That made Miriam very happy that she cried.  Then I had to whip up a nice meal - of grilled salmon, mango salsa and rice which they both like.  We even sang a happy birthday song before she opened her presents.  

Shannon, although she is far away, also planned a special activity with Miriam on this day.  They watched a movie remotely together.  Technology.  And because Brahms was also home, the three of them watched the movie together.  Even more special!

Tim and I are truly blessed.  As parents we consider our kids as blessings and gifts from God.  And to be given the opportunity to watch God continues to take care and bless these blessings is a multiplied blessing to the nth power.  God is good!

Birthdays are milestones where we can count our blessings

and reflect on God's goodness.