January 24th....

What a day of joyous celebration! 

This was the day, I witnessed Remi making the single most important decision of his life. We will make many mistakes along our journey of parenthood, but this right here, is the one thing, the only thing, that I have prayed we get right! A man after God's own heart will need for nothing more in this life, and this was the day we watched Remi make that proclamation!

And you better believe, I took pictures of every single hug, and with all the family individually! Having family that shares your same beliefs is a blessing in and of itself. A family that comes from generations of believers on both sides.... well, that it quite the legacy! One that I pray both our boys will help carry on for generations to come!

Remi, you will probably remember this day or at least parts of it for years to come, but I want to tell you about it as your mamma, from the outside looking in.

You wanted this day to be intimate. You did not want to walk forward in front on the entire congregation and you were very involved with who I invited. You made the decision one night at bedtime, and we went over our calendar and picked a day that we could go right after school. You were ready and you took this decision very seriously.

You have a soul that longs to follow Christ. You have a heart that loves like Jesus and you have a gift of delivering the most beautiful prayers I've ever heard. You are comfortable in your faith, and talk freely and deeply with me most nights at bedtime. At 15, we still pray together every single night, me (or your dad) going first, and then you. Your prayers always start with"....thank you for this wonderful day" and always end with "...thank you for your grace and mercy and for sending your son to die on the cross so we can spend eternity with you...". You pray for your friends who struggle with things they don't tell you about, but rather, the things you pick up on from being around them. Right now, you are praying hard for a friend to "feel better about himself". You pray for the people that have made bad decisions and those who are suffering. You thank God every night for a "dad who works so hard for our family" and never do you leave out those who are sick. You ask God to help you be respectful to your parents and you thank him for your blessings, like a warm bed and a food to eat.  You seem to have a deep understanding that all good things come from Him and you do your best to appreciate even the smallest of these. 

Your faith has a reverence about it that makes you seem so much wiser than your 15 years would imply. We talk a lot about spiritual things and you listen, you absorb and you go out into the world, wearing the armor of God. You aren't in anyone's face about your morals, but those who know you, know that those morals are what drive you each day. You are as hard headed as the day is long, but it has proven to serve you well, as you know what's right and budging you away from that would be no easy feat. You aren't perfect, and you aren't afraid to back down and admit when you are wrong, which proves to be one of your most Christ-like qualities... humility. 

Your faith is inspiring, so very pure, and watching your sins be washed away so that you really can bask in God's eternity one day, was my proudest moment as your mom. 

All my love,

Mom