Letting go, being brave and grace for the little ones

Last week this oldest boy turned 6 years old!!! He is truly a gracious gift from God. He had a great birthday surrounded by family and friends, and ending it watching fireworks out a dark window of the bedroom, with us looking on. We reminisced how 6 years ago we stared out another dark window--of a hospital room--holding his tiny little body in our arms, not having any idea how our lives were about to be changed forever.

We are proud of Jack for many reasons, but recently he's had a couple of moments that have stood out. He's processing things differently these days, and learning to let go a little.

He has always been our little 'collector.' His bed is always full of little trinkets, cards, papers, animals, tags, etc. When we take his sheets off there is usually at least one or two items that take a little swim in the washing machine unintentionally. In his years of collecting, he has sometimes had an especially hard time letting go of things. Even if it seems like trash to us, it is usually a treasure to him. On one particular day a couple weeks ago his treasure of the moment was a tiny angry bird pencil-topper. He had carried it with him everywhere for at least 48 hours. Until he let it leave his sight for a moment...and the dog decided to move in and eat it. No joke. She doesn't chew on many of the kids' toys, but if she wants to she can really destroy something in no time flat (you could never tell by this sweet face, right?!).

I heard crying in the backyard, looked out and he was mumbling something about his angry bird and "Lily ate it." I braced myself for the coming wrath that would probably ensue. Like I said, he usually doesn't let things go easily, and he probably would very shortly be demanding we get him another one and right now, and then cry for the rest of the morning when I said no... But he didn't! He had that little cry, then we talked about how disappointing it is when we lose something, and he moved on. Oh my goodness! He moved on! It might not seem like a big deal, but for this little boy, it was monumental. He is learning not to cling to 'stuff' in this world. And so am I...still! I pray that we would store up our treasures not on this earth, but in Heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy (Matthew 6:19-21).

Luke recently had a brave big boy moment of riding on a horse! It was really cool because I could almost see the turmoil within as he decided whether or not to ride. The horse was big. And I could tell he was scared, though I don't think someone who doesn't know him would have noticed. All by himself, though, he resolved to get up there and just do it. I don't think he particularly loves horses. In fact, as much as I would love it if they did, I don't think any of our boys have taken to a true love (or slight obsession) for animals just yet. So it was amazing. He just got up there and rode away from me, and didn't even look back. And he was of course VERY excited to tell Daddy all about it when he got home ;)

This little 2 year old boy sometimes seems like he is about 16. He can talk back like a teenager, like when he is told to stop doing something and he promptly replies with, "Mommy, you stop doing that!" But he loves fiercely too. He is passionate and strong. He is hilarious. And though he doesn't really have a desire to do what is right (yet), hearing what he says after being disciplined for the umpteenth time for getting out of bed (instead of sleeping) at naptime is precious. He prays to God, "Thank you, God, for David. Help me to do what is right and listen to mommy and stay in my bed. Amen." I hope I never forget his little mousy toddler voice saying those words, straight from his heart. And I know that one day he will realize that God honors that prayer and will give him the strength he needs to do what is right.

Joshua is 9 months old! He is growing wilder by the minute. He can crawl super fast now, and is starting to get into anything and everything that comes across his path. I've found him in the dog water, playing with the plunger (ewww!), and he's even made a journey down from the top of the staircase (thanks be to God that he was completely fine after that adventure). So, we have another explorer on our hands. And he's not going to miss a thing;)

Here are a few more pictures from recent days. Trying to count the blessings amidst moments of crazy chaos in this house, as we are experiencing grace upon Grace. And trying to practice the presence of our Almighty Creator in our everyday 'stuff.'

 

 

 

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