It crazy how one day you wake up and realize how much your kids have grown up in front of you. Their height etc are a given. But maturity level is something totally different.
Both Malcolm and Cole are hitting another year older this week. Malcolm turns 16 and Cole turns 14. With church this means they both progress in their priesthood duties. We were talking about who they wanted to perform their ordinances. I get the impression from quite a few people that this should be sad for them not having their Dad as someone they could turn to in this. In reality it seems to be the quite opposite. The discussion continued with both initially wanting the same Uncle to do it. Then the question was asked if Malcolm could stand in or in fact if one of their cousins could do it. We arrived at church and they scurried off to do their things.
I was aproached by the bishop about their ordination when and who they were going to have. He also mentioned that Malcolm could actually perform the ordination for Cole if Cole wanted him to or stand in. I discussed with him our earlier conversation and he said he would talk to the boys about it.
I have to say I absolutely love our bishop. Maybe it is because we got to know him as our hometeacher first so there is a different connection. My kids love him and find it very easy for them to talk to him.
After church Malcolm decided to have his cousin Dalton perform his ordinances. And we didn't dare say anything else to Cole. I think he was feeling the pressures a bit. To many options not wanting to hurt anyones feelings. Especially Malcolm's I am guessing if he chose someone else. On the way to BYC and SED tonight Cole announced that he wanted Dakin to perform the ordinances. This is his oldest cousin. They are very much backwards from what I thought the boys would do. Dalton and Cole are very much a like and Malcolm and Dakin are very much alike. hmmm
I watch the youth around me and am amazed at their I don't know what the right word is.. Their ability to choose right from wrong. The strength of their testimonies and the way they handle their decisions they need to make.
My kids have a bedtime routine that every night right before the younger ones go to bed everything stops..We read scriptures and have prayer. They figured out a schedule on who reads and who prays each night. They did this one night when I was working. And it has stuck. There isn't any set amount of scripture verses that we are to read each night. Alot of nights it depends on the time and the moods of the little guys. What blows me away is that they do this even when I am at work. Without to much promptings either. So Malcolm text me the other night about how upset he was that the 3 younger ones weren't paying attention and how it was so important for them to listen and understand the scriptures and know how important it is to do this so they don't make the same mistake and miss out on the importance. Wow really this is coming from my not quite 16 year old. Cole tends to try and sneak in extra verses without the little guys knowing. Except the other night Malcolm got wise and picked up another Book of mormon and saw he was continue to read past what I told him too. He just doesn't want to stop and one night he read 20 something verses when the others thought he was only going to read a couple. Which is not a problem except when it is hours past bedtime due to other activities.
I look at my older three and look at the testimonies they have. Their strength in who they are as latter day saints and just stand there with my jaw open. They have developed such knowledge of the gospel and right from wrong that it blows anything I ever knew away.
I look at where we were at 9 years ago when I filed for divorce. I wondered how I was going to make it work to teach them the importance of church and the priesthood if they didn't have a good influence for a father. I have been so blessed by the Lord that he made it work. He put in the right people in our lives to help them get to where they are today. It was the hardest thing to do to move from a ward that I was so close to and didn't have to explain the family dynamics to.
But the best thing I ever did was to move south closer to family into a ward with 2 of my sisters and their families. The connection my kids have made with their cousins is something I never would have thought possible. Even between the girls and the boys they are close. Being given the opportunity to live closer also gave my kids an opportunity to see the framework of how to build their testimonies of the priesthood through their uncles.
Ok so now Malcolm is turning 16 on Tuesday. He is something like 6feet 1inches tall if he hasn't grown more. Towers over me. Cole is 14 on Thursday and Stands 5 feet 7 inches. He would walk up to me and say mom am I taller yet. Now he is just barely. What wonderful young men they are becoming.
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