Happy Birthday, Rachel

It's hard to believe this tiny girl is 12!!! I just had her weigh herself. She is weighing in at 49 pounds. We thought maybe we should try again after she eats, so that number bumps back up to 50. Two weeks ago, Kate measured her and she is 4'4.5". That half an inch counts a lot when you are as tiny as Rachel. Kate also looked up her 12 year old statistics on this blog. Kate was 60 pounds and 4'5". So Rachel weighs 10 pounds less than Kate did, but is only a half inch shorter. That gives me hope that Rachel will grow up to be a normal-sized short person. Years ago we took her to the doctors because she didn't gain any weight between the ages 3 and 5. But the endocrinologist only checked to see if she was getting taller. He said weight does not matter. If Rachel is always this naturally thin, she will be happy, though.

Rachel has grown up a lot, though she is still very innocent and child-like. For example, Rachel cried today during our story club tea party because she wasn't given the spoon she wanted. However, Rachel loves to read and she is very often considerate of the feelings of others. These accomplishments have come in time. The love of reading took a few years to develop, but now Rachel reads three to four books a week. She reads some children's books and some more adult literature. She can tackle a 300 page book in 3 days. Along with that, Rachel has begun to develop her mind. She is learning to study and memorizes things very well. I can give her some complicated concepts, set her down to learn and she will come back with an understanding. I think in time, she will be as good at academics as Kate.

Rachel loves to draw and she is a very good artist. She spends time at it. She has also been pouring over books and reading about drawing to help her improve.

I am worried about sending Rachel to young women's. She is both innocent and social. I want her to be able to have friends and be social like she was in Utah, but I want her to have friends with the highest of moral standards. She's entering a critical time in her life and a critical time in the history of the world. A strong family is the most important, but who one's friends are shapes that person as well. Rachel needs to be around young women who will lift her up and she needs to be lifting them up. I pray that she can have this.

I didn't have the same worries 8 years ago when Ruth turned 12 or 6.5 years ago when Kate turned 12. I often think that we have moved into an age very much like the days of Noah. I want all my kids to know what is necessary and be who they should be to go against what is seen even as rational if it is not what is the desire of God. In Noah's day, only his wife and sons had enough faith to enter onto the ark. I wonder if there were more people who thought about it but were persuaded by their friends or family that it was too extreme to do something like go aboard an ark in the middle of dry land. The parable of the 10 virgins is a warning to us. Only 5 had enough oil to get to last until the bride groom came. I want Rachel to have that extra oil. I want her to be one of the 5.