“Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the most important work. In the end, the legacy that matters won’t be what you build in the world. It will be who you raised and whether they felt safe, seen, and loved in your presence.” – C.S. Lewis

Ministry has me (Theresa) more at home than not these days. I almost finished teacher certification in college. Every day I use what I learned tailoring homeschool to each boy. You can still find me prayer leading twice a week at the IHOPKC, Thursdays and Sundays at 4pm, plus some extra prayer room hours. Join me on the web stream. Our boys rotate going with Jonathan to the nursing home. They love going! Tuesday evenings we pray together as a family at the children led prayer meeting, Psalm 8 Flame.

Jeremiah: From the moment Jeremiah wakes up until he falls asleep, you can hear him coming up with a new imaginative idea, or keeping us on task for the day. He is a hard worker persevering through autism and learning disabilities. This year, he has grown in emotional regulation skills. He is steady in his love for Jesus and bold to speak truth.

Caleb: Caleb has a huge heart for people, especially the residents of the nursing home and his younger brothers. He asks great questions and is curious about almost everything. You can find Caleb with a notebook in hand classifying and designing for his latest interest including hummingbirds, snakes, geography, and history.

Micah: You can find Micah building, creating, tinkering on his latest project, which usually includes building from recycled material. He is usually the first to lend a helping hand or ask to come with me to the prayer room or to be one of the antiphonal singers at Psalm 8 Flame.

Moses: Everyone comments on Moses’ beautiful smile! We had many breakthroughs this year, including getting him diagnosed with autism and global development delay. Though he remains mostly non-verbal, he has bloomed in receptive understanding, and now points or physically leads us to show us things. He’s learning to use an AAC talk device in speech therapy, and we are planning to get him one for home soon. We have found an amazing specialty center 2 hours away in Columbia, MO, and this next year will include some trips there. Even without many words, he loves to hum and sing with tones! As we continue to persevere through challenges, we pray for healing that with his mouth one day he will declare the wonders and glory of God!

Archer: Archer is in full-blown toddlerhood. With him being my 5th boy, I am often surprised how he can still surprise me with his ways, including climbing and getting into many things he shouldn’t. His fine motor skills impress me, or slightly terrify me depending what he is up to. He is quite the talker with his favorite phrases being, “gotta go, wow, no, and uh-oh.”