This year feels so BIG for Jacob. It is just constantly hitting me how big he is getting. He is maturing and is not so much my little boy anymore. It is exciting to think about all of the changes that will happen this year {and in the coming years!} for him. We are definitely entering a new chapter in our parenting life and I sure hope we are ready for it!
Later this year, Jacob will have the opportunity to get baptized and it is a topic that is coming up very frequently in the Berning household. He is so excited. And I love to see that.
Jacob also gets to be apart of the older kids in Primary – he will hopefully begin to participate in activities and have experiences with others his age. I am really excited for this.
This year, Jacob is also being encouraged to participate in some goal making for personal development. I am so thrilled about it. This new program is beautiful and inspired.
The last several weeks we have been talking about ideas of different things he could focus on this year. Finally, this week we sat down to read through his pamphlet and make the first step – discover what he wants to do!
I was so impressed with how Jacob went with it {I honestly didn’t know how it would go beforehand}. He was thoughtful and focused and I really just tried to let him take the lead with it all.
There are four areas to work on: spiritual, social, physical, and intellectual. It was great to sit down and have him think of his strengths in each of these categories, and then brainstorm things he would like to learn and be better at.
Jacob picked a direction for each of these categories and I am so excited for him. We decided we wanted to go one step further and come up with a specific “plan” for one of them. What sprouted from that was an idea that not only helped in that one area but brought in two other areas. It is all intertwined!
The more we talked it out the more excited he became. By the end, he was truly grinning from ear to ear, bouncing up and down, asking when he could start! This is what it is all about. It combines his strengths that he already has and let’s them flourish to serve others and dive even deeper.
Mark and I have made some goals already for the year and shared them with Jacob because I think another great part of this program is helping one another out. We don’t have to do it alone. If nothing else, we can be one another’s biggest cheerleaders.
Jacob’s first goal is a secret project. He is so excited.
The big thing he wanted to focus on intellectually was writing longer, more complex stories. He loves to come up with stories and frequently writes one for each of the holidays and other things. They are adorable. But he wanted to write longer stories.
So out sprang an idea. He has decided to make a Book of Mormon Storybook for his siblings. Oh. my. mama. heart. Today he had all of his Book of Mormon things spread out trying to decide how he wants to organize it.
He came up with some great ideas and we are going to come up with an outline this weekend so that he can have it done for them for Christmas. It is going to be such a treasure. AND, as I said earlier, it also combines two other things that he wanted to work on: reading the Book of Mormon daily and serving the family.
Pretty perfect.
