Magdalena Faith is 14!

In August, Maggie turned 14. It’s always a bit of a shock to open my eyes and see my daughters moving from childhood into teens and young adults. 

Maggie is in year two of OAH (Oldest Available Hess) and she’s doing amazing. I came home from an appointment one day to find her baking cookies with her younger siblings. What joy to see her taking responsibility and bringing fun and creativity into the lives of her younger siblings. 

(Concert for her bday!)

She and Hans are still nearly inseparable. She is devoted to him, though sometimes to her detriment. For example, she had taken him down to the stream our kids enjoy which is a bit of a walk. Especially coming home as it’s up a steep hill. He had cried and refused to walk and threw a huge fit the whole way home. She told him she wasn’t going to take him the next time she went. We made sure she followed through with that necessary and suitable discipline. But she felt so bad about it that I don’t think she enjoyed herself as much. We found a decent compromise to this situation was to allow him to walk down with them but I would drive and pick them up when they were done. 

Maggie truly is a good little mother. 

She also is an excellent artist. I love her art style and the way she can create feeling through her work. She’s in her second year of a homeschool art class that I’ve been so thankful to provide her with. She has really enjoyed the different mediums she’s been exposed to, though I think she still is most comfortable with marker and graphite. 

Maggie is also a very good writer. I always enjoy reading her work, from poetry to short stories, she is gifted with words. 

I am so grateful to God for giving us Magdalena Faith 14 years ago. As the years go by it can be easy to forget her birth history and the uncertainty about her life that was presented to us. 

Best of all, this year Maggie chose to be baptized. It was a beautiful and meaningful way to welcome her into the family of God. 

We love you so much, Maggie! I’m so thankful to have you at home this year. I know it’ll be a huge adjustment for us all next year to send you to high school. But rather than get the sads about it now, I’ll treasure our days!

Mary Jubilee is One!

The smiliest, happiest girl in our world is one!!

Mary Jubilee is as sweet as can be. She became a new baby once she started eating solids. At about seven months she started breastfeeding well. It was such a special gift. It only lasted about a month or two, and we transitioned her to goat’s milk after that. She still can’t drink straight cow’s milk as it makes her vomit, but thankfully processed dairy (yogurt, cheese, butter, etc.) are all okay for her. 

Girlfriend LOVES to eat, and is one of the messiest eaters I’ve ever seen. She often gets a quick sink bath after meals because she’s so filthy. While I feel like she’s filling out she’s still actually quite tiny for her age - about 17.5 pounds and 27 inches. She only has two teeth. She is starting to say several words, Hi, Mama, Dada, Bub, yeah, nana (for banana) and Nana for Anne. 

She loves to climb the stairs as fast as possible without being seen. As soon as she hears someone coming for her she laughs and crawls even faster. She also waves, claps, walks along furniture, dance/bounces to music, and SMILES. Oh, how she smiles!

Mary Jubilee loves to smile. She enjoys hugs, pat-a cake, books, babies, laughing, food, her little lamb, and her people. She LOVES her dad and all her siblings. It’s so sweet to see her face light up when girls get home from school, when she sees dad after work, when siblings wake up in the morning. She is so joyful.

She went to about 9 blood transfusions with Ruth and was an angel every time until the last. That day she was so upset and unlike herself that we decided it’s probably for the best if she not come along for awhile. A crawling baby on a hospital floor isn’t the best idea anyway. Maybe after she’s walking well and down to just one nap a day she’ll be a fun companion again. 

Mary’s first year was filled with much difficulty for our family. There were my personal challenges, Ruth’s health challenges, changes in schooling for Heidi, and our schedule being complicated and often difficult. Yet through all of it, she developed and grew into herself. From a newborn who was quite fussy and discontented into who she is now, rarely upset and often joyful, we are so grateful. In hindsight, I wonder how much of my own stress was being expressed to her through my milk. Milk I had pumped early on and frozen she utterly rejected later on. While I did what I thought was best at the time, it does make me wonder about the connection between those things. Especially as she’s moved on from breast milk and become a different (happier) child. 

So happy first birthday, Miss Mary! I love you to bits and would live though it all again for you. You are sunshine and beauty. Love you lots sweet girl!