A New Year and a 15 Year Old

We now have a 15 year old and are loving every minute of it.  Well almost every minute of it.  We celebrated Winter’s birthday on New Year’s Day with a quiet day at home full of homemade donuts, games, chili and a warm fire in the stove.  We ended the day with watching a TV episode off of our iTunes which is one of Winter’s favorite things.  I forgot to mention that we also had cake.  I made the cake and David decorated it.  We actually had candles so it felt like we were going all out.

This past year has had many firsts for Winter.  She was in her first dance recital and also in her first musical.   While in Iowa during Spring break last year, she also had her first few driving lessons from her Grandpa Dave.   Winter likes school and has a tough load this year.  She says her hardest classes are geometry and Dari.   Her highlight of each week is Wednesday night youth group where a group of teens get together for a time of fun and worship.  Her chocolate chip cookies are highly sought after by her teachers especially her history teacher.   In her free time, she still loves to read and make clothes for her dolls.  She also spends lots of time outside with our dog.  Over break, she has been working on some new crochet projects that she found on the internet.  We have been blessed that she likes the style of dress that is required for ladies here and that she doesn’t mind wearing her headscarf.   We are also blessed that she has many good friends both Afghan and expat.   Pray for her that she will continue this year strong in her faith and finish the school year strong.  Pray for her as two of her close friends will be leaving at the end of the school year that God will provide the friends that she needs.  Lastly pray for her and her brother  that they will learn to communicate well with each other and continue to become good friends as they grow older.  Pray for Noel and I that we will guide her in the way she should go.