Keeping Up With The Dunkels - Chapter 9: Moving On

There was soooooo much to celebrate in the Dunkel household: the opening of Limited Atonement Church, Andrew and Cara's engagement, and sweet adopted child Alexander Dunkel becoming a toddler!

The Dunkels took the rest of the money from Wilbur's life insurance policy and put it into renovating the house. Well, tearing it down and rebuilding it from the bottom up, more like. 7 bathrooms, 8 bedrooms, and finally enough space for all. It was going to be such a joy for the Dunkels to invite all their friends and acquaintances over to show off how rich they were now fellowship!

Meanwhile, Abigail was really progressing in her career as a musician. She was just biding her time till she'd saved up enough money and could skip town, and not have to dress like an old church lady anymore.

Finally Andrew and Cara's special day arrived! The wedding ceremony was held in the Dunkels' brand new beautiful house that the Lord had so graciously blessed them with, because all of the guests couldn't fit in Limited Atonement Church.

Such a blessing! Andrew and Cara purposed to save their first kiss for their wedding day. What a wonderful testimony!

The guests cheered the newlywed couple. Except for Abel, pictured here wearing jeans and a winter coat and looking less than enthused. See, young Abel had a secret crush on Cara and was jealous that his brother got to marry her. Don't worry, Abel - you'll find your own young lady with a servant's heart! Eventually. I'm sure.

In the midst of the wedding celebrations, precious adopted child Addyson had her birthday! Happy Birthday to the littlest Dunkel! Well, the littlest Dunkel who is Cathy and Wilbur's child. Not biological, though. Adopted. She's adopted, guys. They adopted TWO babies, and would have adopted more had Wilbur not gone home to be with the Lord. The Dunkels are just THAT wonderful! And I'm sure at least one of them noticed Addyson's birthday!

Andrew and Cara decided not to buy their own home. Instead, they moved into a wing of the main Dunkel house. That way Andrew would be right across the street from his church, and Cara could help with alllllllll the children. 

Abigail awoke one morning soon after the wedding to find that she was a woman in her 20s still sharing a room with prepubescent girls. But she was content. Why? Because she wasn't going to be sharing that room much longer...

SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!!! Check out Abigail's makeover! After years of hard work, patience, and perseverance, Abigail came to the attention of a Christian rock band while she was playing music with the worship team at the liberal Christian church across town. The band recruited Abigail, and she was going on tour with them all over the U.S. and Canada. After the tour finished, she wouldn't be returning to the Dunkel household. She was moving away to the big city to keep her music career alive. GO ABIGAIL!!!

"lol bye"

Don't worry, we haven't seen the last of her.

The Dunkels were of course distraught and devastated by their eldest daughter's defection to the depravity of rock music, skinny jeans, short hair, and librul Christianity. Cathy lay awake at night, weeping at the thought of poor Abigail out there unchaperoned, drinking beer, reading Rob Bell and interpreting Genesis figuratively! But life must go on...

Aliviah became a teenager soon after Abigail left, and swore to herself that she would NOT be like her HEATHEN older sister. She would pour everything she had into being the most godly, meek, submissive and sweet future helpmeet she possibly could! (So far Aliviah is the only Dunkel sister who has rolled the 'Family' aspiration.)

And the Dunkels' 12th and last biological child, Aaron, left toddlerhood behind! 

Adalyn and Mehrissa's younger brother Hobart weren't yet officially courting, but they were BEST FRIENDS! Meanwhile, Aimee Joy and Anna Grace quietly seethed that one of the YOUNGER twins might very well be married BEFORE either of them - by which I mean they humbly submitted their will to the Lord in prayer and worked on their contentment.

Cara spent a lot of time practicing her future parenting skills on her young brothers- and sisters-in-law.

And she was going to need those skills sooner than expected! Yep, though Cara wouldn't be able to boast a honeymoon hammock baby like Adam and Mehrissa, she was going to be a proud mama before her first anniversary!

Speaking of Mehrissa... it wasn't long after she learned the blessed news about her newest little niece or nephew that she found out she was expecting again herself! 

That's right - TWO sweet little granddunklings are on the way! Unless one of the wives has.... TWINS!!!!

Next time: Babies, Babies, Babies! Courtships! Engagements?! Limited Atonement Church's first Sunday service (for realz this time)! And Abigail's journey of independence!  And who knows what else, because I don't control everything these people do and sometimes they do really weird stuff!