I realized I've really lagged on the blogging lately. I'm hoping now that we are done with homeschool for the summer that I'll have more time for things like this. However, based on how this first week of "summer vacation" has gone it may not necessarily be the case.
So here's a little about our second born, Abbey Frances, who turned the big f-i-v-e back in April.
Abbey is really doing well with reading! She could read pretty many words when school started back in late August, but they were mostly sight words and one syllable words. When we read chapter books together she will often want to sit on my lap or lay beside me so she can see the words. Often she will start the sentence, sometimes reading an entire sentence, or at least getting as far as possible. She has started putting multiple syllable words together, which is really exciting for her (and me!). Math started out very easy for Abbey, but as the school year progressed she started getting more and more challenged. She did finish Kindergarten math, and will move on to first grade in the fall. It's been really fun to watch Abbey gain confidence in her reading abilities. It is now a common sight to see her reading to Maggie, and her car seat is piled full of her little books so she can read whenever we are on the go. Abbey continues to be able to memorize quickly and easily. She memorized 26 verses this school year as well as the poem 'Trees' by Joyce Kilmer.
As sweet as Abbey can be, she continues to be a challenge for me to parent. She is an introvert by nature, which, being an extrovert myself, I have a hard time understanding where she is coming from. She sometimes will get upset by something and I have NO IDEA why she is crying. From what I understand about her personality, she tends to hold things in and it could be something that happened last week that really upset her, but this one little thing (for example Maggie not sharing a toy) is that straw that breaks the camel's back.
Abbey does tend to get angry easily. But, she is usually quick to regain control. She appreciates one-on-one time and smaller settings. She tends to get overwhelmed in large groups of people. Often I will send her to her room when she is out of control. When I go to talk with her about what happened and what upset her and try to give her methods of regaining control she appreciates when I hold her on my lap and pray with her.
Speaking of prayer, Abbey is a PRAYER WARRIOR!! She LOVES to pray for people. She has a LOOOOONG list of people that she prays for every night. (Though to be honest I tend to lose patience and am ready for her to wrap it up with a tidy "Amen" at about minute five.) She has a very tender heart toward others, especially those who are sick. She had prayed nightly for a little boy named Ben who was suffering through brain cancer. He died last month, but she still prays for his family every night. A highschool classmate of mine died last year and left behind his wife and three kids. She prays for them every night. A young woman with cancer came to speak at our church and share her journey. I told the woman I would pray for her and asked the kids to keep me accountable. We have prayed for her every night since. Unfortunately, this young woman seems to be getting worse. The children often ask for updates on the health of the people we have been praying for.
Abbey was very in tune to what we were talking about. Last night she asked, "Is Kim going to die like Ben?" I didn't know how to answer. Because, the truth is, yes, she probably will die. Of course, God CAN heal her, but they prayed so hard for Ben to be healed and he wasn't. And how can little children grasp all of this? We talked about the passage we had read from Genesis that morning, about sin entering the world, and that these bad things happen because of sin. How can they understand when I can scarcely (if at all) wrap my mind around it. When it was Trent's turn to pray he prayed for the "candy man" (a kind, older gentleman who passes out candy to children after the service) from our church who is not in good health. The kids were instantly asking all kinds of questions about what is wrong with him and why he is sick. Trent continued with his prayer and maybe a few seconds later Abbey burst into tears.
I took Abbey onto my lap and let her cry and then tried to get her to explain why she was upset. (See, extroverts like me, Anne, and Maggie will just chat about it right away. Not Abbey. I'm learning!!) After asking a couple of questions I came to understand that she was really sad that the "candy man" was sick because she really likes him. Often the people who are really sick and have died or may die are not people that we see on a regular basis or people that the children really know well. I'm sure Abbey's fervent prayers are being heard. It sure would be nice to hear some good news to boost their childlike faith.
Abbey has really impressed me with her love for little Caroline. She tends to like things to stay the way they are, and seemed the least excited about having another baby. But I think that is because I was looking for words and external statements of anticipation and excitement. Abbey internalizes all these things and cherishes them in her heart. She has such a sweet relationship with Caroline. I just LOVE to hear her talking to Carrie and making her smile. Abbey continues to look up to Anne and look to Anne for acceptance (am I funny? Am I smart?). She is a true big sister to Maggie, telling her what to do, reading to her, and helping her on her bike. But they are also so close in age that they play (most of the time) SO NICELY with each other. They are a joy!!
Abbey Frances has a really sweet and tender spirit. Although I do get frustrated with her at times, I'm finding this really beautiful little soul peep out at me when I least expect it. I can see a rough road ahead for her if she allows the devil a foothold on her sin-nature and the tendency to get angry. However, I have so much hope that she will instead allow the LORD to work in her life and allow Him to polish that bright little spirit she has within her.
