Mirabel Update

Some things that Mirabel is doing (just a point in time):
- Vocab explosion - sentences, repeating what we say, adding phrases and words like crazy. Some of my favorites- "No worries." "Oh, my goodness!" "Good job, Mirabel Grace." "More Jesus, Mommy, more Jesus." (when she wants another Bible story at night).
- Still in constant motion. She tires me out. She can ride a little two wheel bike with training wheels now. She swings on a regular swing by herself, pumps her legs, and lately has taken to leaning back as she swings. She loves having her dad swing her upside down and side to side (tick-tock clock).
- She is a great eater. She loves fruit and vegetables, and of late pancakes are a favorite treat.
- She still sleeps pretty well, taking a nap daily, going down well and staying asleep until 7:30 or so in the morning.
-Exciting for us- potty training since mid-July. She's been rocking on that, and is wearing diapers just for nap and nighttime.

She's starting Montessori preschool/daycare next week Monday. I think she will really like it a lot. I'm excited to see how it ends up going for her.

The end of summer

We're enjoying our family vacation this week, spending it with Dave's family (sisters and their husbands and kids and his parents). We all have cabins right in a row next to each other up at Heartwood. We've enjoyed tubing down the river, kayaking on the lake, biking, walking, eating, boating, talking, and resting. Dave and I have gotten 8+ hours of sleep each night since we've been here which was much needed.

When we get back, we'll be welcoming Lisa to our house as well as two foreign exchange students, Paulina from Poland (though she's been living in Mexico the past few years) and Yirui from China. Full house and exciting times ahead!

Feet that go where God sends

Before I was pregnant with Mirabel, I heard a sermon that talked about blessing, not cursing. One thing that specifically stood out to me was an admonition to parents to intentionally bless their children and not curse them. While most parents don't actually curse their kids with swear words or phrases like "you'll never amount to anything," they do say hurtful things like "I can't believe you did that" or "Why do you always ..." or "That was a stupid decision" etc. It stuck with me. I have tried to specifically bless Mirabel each night when I put her to bed and try to avoid cursing behavior.

For the past few months, I have been praying for her this way- God, please bless Mirabel with a strong mind, eyes that see, ears that hear, a mouth that speaks truth, a kind and compassionate heart, hands that serve, a strong body, and feet that go where God sends. For the past few weeks, she has been saying "baa-dee" along with me and "fee..go...God...senns" when I say the last two phrases. It's a sweet memory for me.

Little Mirabel- may your feet always run along the path where God sends.