2 People I Greately admire...

As a parent you watch your children go through many ups and downs in their lives. You watch them make choices and pray alot for them.
But every once in a while your children experience something that is of great magnitude and it causes you to really take a look at them and see the strong character and strength that they have. I have had a chance to do this with both of my children in just the last few weeks.

Because of the horse riding accident our son has had to wake up everyday to needing help with just some of the basic things in life. He wakes up to much discomfort and sometimes pain. But as his mother this is what I have seen and greatly admire about him. He has (with exception of just a couple of times) been very appreciative of what we do for him. He has talked in a very kind voice. He has used the words please and thank you constantly. He has caused us to laugh. He has given us sound advise about praying about a house. He has teased his sister so lovingly. He has come up with ideas of creating things( wild rags, working leather, ideas for making more chaps) to keep himself busy and to make each of his days pass more quickly. Yesterday as he came from showering he said "this is getting really old", and yet not once has he showed any anger, no throwing of crutches, walker or taking off in his wheel chair. So what do I admire most about this situation and Matt. The patience that he is showing with himself, us and the whole situation. I admire the kindness that he is showing to all of us. I admire his gratitude for what is being done for him. But the thing I admire the most is his positive look on his life right now and the strength that he shows. You can truly tell that he knows that "this too shall pass".

Our daughter has come from living in the European culture for 8 1/2 years to moving to a small area of West Texas in America. She has changed school during her Junior year. She has had to make all new friends and re establish herself among a church group. So what do I admire about all of this. She has done it all with a smile on her face and such a positive attitude. At her school each day most of the 11th graders leave campus for lunch. Because she doesn't drive (at least not yet) she has been invited by many of her classmates to join them for lunch. As each day has gone by she has experiences situations where kids are talking about using drugs, to having sex, to the list could do on and on... But she has also had some great experiences with kids that want to take about things of substance. Alex has used such good judgement in quickly seeing those classmates that are of the standards that she has and keeps and has chosen to seek them out. On the basketball team one teammate is constantly being picked on by the other players, but Alex has chosen to befriend her and to build her up rather than tear her down. She has jumped out of the pickup everyday and very cheerfully walked into a new environment gladly accepting the trials that her day may bring. So what I admire about her the most is the example that she has been to all of us with her positive attitude, her desire to seek out those students that have high morals and principals, to see this whole moving thing as an adventure, to say "I am so thankful for Sunday when I can go and be spiritually feed so that I can make it through the week." What I admire the very most is she really gets it. She gets that she is here on this earth to go through her trials and through these trials get closer to her Heavenly Father.

It may have sounded as though I have been bragging about my children. But please know that I am not. I just wanted you to know and them to know how much I admire them.