My daughter, my friend

If you had told me last year when I wondered if I would ever make it through these teenage years, that I would cherish them this year, I would have told you you were crazy.

I L-O-V-E my teenager.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but Jordan seems different. She seems genuinely happy. She can rise above those moments when everyone in the house is crabby and she can laugh at those moments. She can walk up to her brother who was just giving her a bad time and give him a hug. Her little sisters who vowed to never be like her, are looking at her with new eyes.

She RARELY gives me a bad time when asked to do something. She genuinely asks Rob and I questions and seems to trust us to tell her the truth. I have watched her blossom and grow by leaps and bounds spiritually. I can feel her testimony lend strength to mine as I watch her earnestly trying to keep up with her scripture study every day. I know her siblings see her doing those things and they too will do them because of her.

Rob used to tell me that we acted more like sisters than mother and daughter. I feel so bad that we spent so much time when she was little butting heads, because I feel like I missed out on so much of HER. She is amazing and I want her to know that she means the world to me. More times than not, when there is much contention in the home, she is the first one to give, and I find myself being humbled by her actions of peacemaking. I know Heavenly Father gave her to me so that I could teach her, and I hope that in some way I have been able to do that, but I also know He gave her to me to teach me and I want her to know that she has. I look up to her and her positive attitude. I aspire to be more like her.