Our Kids

I'm really proud of all 8 of our kids. It's crazy that even though they have been brought up in the same family, they are all so different from each other. They all have their own strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes and varying hopes and dreams for their lives.

This week we celebrated with our 16 year old son, Joshua, as he received awards for outstanding academic achievement in year 11. He excelled in English, Mathematics, Chemisty and Physics, and got a fantastic grade for Biology as well. He is entering his final year of school next year and hopes to get high enough grades to do Veterinary Science at University. We are so incredibly proud of how hard he has worked and how determined he has been to do well.

Joshua's success this week has made me stop and think about all of our kids, and the different things I'm proud of them for. I think it's easy to look at academic success as being more important than other things but, I can honestly say, what is most important to me is the type of people our kids are becoming. It makes me so proud to see them being good friends and looking out for other people or nurturing their own siblings. I love hearing about Amy cooking a meal for Bekah when she's sick and taking it to her house. I love watching Isaiah being incredibly patient with Felix when he's in a grumpy mood. I love how Joshua has such a wonderful work ethic. I've enjoyed seeing Joel become a beautiful Father to his little boy. Aaron never fails to make us laugh with his hilarious sense of humour; and Daniel may be nearly 23 years old but still tells me he loves me.  I love hearing Bekah telling everyone she knows, how proud she is of her little brother, who has Down Syndrome.

Whether we're celebrating Joshua's academic success, Amy winning a stand up comedy competition or the fact that Felix has consistently signed 'please' and 'thank you' all day, I'm a very proud Mum! Felix often has to try much harder than the other kids ever did to learn something new but, I love that all of us as a family, get just as excited about one of his new milestones as we do about something significant in the older kids' lives.

I thought I'd share one of our Christmas traditions with you. About a month or so before Christmas, every year, whoever is going to be here on Christmas Day (kids, Grandparents & friends), tell us what their favourite food is. On Christmas Day, we cook every single person's favourite dish and put it on the table to share. The food selection is fairly eclectic, but there is something on the table which each person loves. One year there was even a plate of Vegemite sandwiches (a 3 year old's request).  This has become the tradition the kids love more than anything else. In fact, Joshua told me today, that he enjoys our meal even more than presents! Now if Felix would just hurry up and decide what his favourite food is going to be....