His Heart

        I am so thankful for my son's sensitive heart. I need to remind myself of that daily, because this kid is sensitive with a capital S. If you look at him wrong, he will burst into great big, uncontrollable tears. I can get frustrated pretty easily, but in the past few weeks, I have been able to see how his sensitive heart may be a great strength and a gift from God. 

       He is quick to ask to pray for someone or about a situation. If an emergency vehicle drives by, he asks, "Where's the fire? Is there an accident? Is someone hurt?" Once we convince him that mom and dad don't know the reason for every siren we hear, he wants to pray because, "If someone is hurt, that's not good. I wouldn't want to be hurt." 

      He is quick to get his feelings hurt, which makes it easier to help him be nice to others. This week he was talking about a kid and said, "I don't like him." We talked about what it would feel like if kids went around saying, "I don't like Caleb." He understood that words hurt. 

     He threw something at a baby on accident. Baby cried, and was quickly soothed. Caleb on the other hand, cried for a good 20 minutes,  hearing an "I'm sorry" through the sobs. 

     Yesterday he was one naughty 3.5 year old. Wow. Crazy naughty. I was sooo frustrated. I yelled a lot. Later in the afternoon we went to the park. I saw with him on a bench, and apologized for yelling at him. I said that what he did was still wrong, but mamma shouldn't have acted that way and I asked for his forgiveness. He put his face in his hands and said, "Can we just not talk about this, it really hurts my heart." 

"It really hurts my heart." 

That struck a chord with this mamma. I know what that feels like. I am a "feeler" vs a "thinker." I understand. It takes one to know one kid.  

And though his emotional side may some days be his greatest weakness, I am praying that God uses his sensitive heart for His glory. A heart that will quickly respond to the Spirit. A heart that will meet the needs of others. 

And for no other reason, except I like them, I leave you with pictures of Caleb and my niece Raegan riding a powerwheels vehicle in the house:) 

Because someday, he'll get it.

Caleb is a trooper. Because of parenting time that Chicky has, and the random DHS, and life "errands", we are in the car a lot. A typical conversation. And when I say typical ---every single time we get in the car.... 

C: "Mom, why did Jesus die?" 

Me: "We just talked about that. Can you tell me why?" 

C: "Mom, why did Jesus die?" 

Me: "He died because there was brokenness and sin in the world. By dying on the cross, he paid for the sin and brokenness." 

C: "The world is broken? And Jesus fixed it?" 

Me: "Yes. And No. There is still more." 

C: "I want Jesus back." 

Me: "That;s the best news. He died, and rose again, so He lives in our heart. We can get to know Him by praying and spending time learning the Bible." 

C: "If want my sin. That was Jesus wouldn't have to die. And we could be friends." 

Me:"See, that's the thing. With sin in our lives, we can't be friends with Jesus. Now we can." 

C: "BUT I CAN'T SEE HIM! I want him back."  

     "Did the solider kill Jesus?"  

      "Why did Jesus die?" 

I am not in kids ministry for a reason. I so value and appreciate those who can put great Biblical truth into words that little ones can understand. I can't. The first ten or so  above conversations we had were frustrating. It was the exact same conversation over and over. 

And then I realized, it was the exact conversation over and over. 

He was remembering. He was somehow linking pieces. 

And we will keep having this conversation until the end of time. It is the most important one I could ever have. Someday he'll get it. He'll understand the cross. He will see the brokenness in the world. He will see Jesus as Redeemer, and I will sit back and remember the good ol' minivan days, where his mind started asking all of these questions. 

It is so worth having the same conversation over and over. Because, someday, he'll get it. And I will be praising Jesus. 

Three Year Old Theology

I love talking about God with my son. I have big dreams and prayers for him to grow up to be a man after God's heart, who is passionate about the word of God and is gifted in teaching. May it be so Lord.

Yesterday we were sitting on the couch having a discussion about thankfulness. I asked him what he could be thankful for.

"Thank you mommy for my snack!"

You're welcome. Is there anything else you could be thankful for?

"Thank you daddy for going to work so you can by me toy story."

Is there anything that you can thank God for?

"Thank you God for saving me."

What?

I was taken back. We don't use the term "saved" in our house, (insert soap box for a later post) but we do go to a church that uses it often. It is totally possible that he heard it at church, but I was almost certain he didn't know what it meant.

Buddy, how does God save you?

"Well, God is like a super hero. Super heros don't hurt people. They save people. So God saves people. Because he is a super hero."

And there you have it.

Theology, from a three year old.

He could write books I tell ya.

Puppy Snuggles

I saw this beautiful sight on the couch. I ran and got my camera, because I am that kind of mom. Caleb thought something was up. He asked: "Mom, is it ok for boys to snuggle with their puppies?" When I said yes, after a chuckle, he then said, "Good, I just wuv her."

At least two of the humans in this house love this dog:)

The Mighty Mega Monster Trucks

If you have been around our house at all, chances are, you have seen "Hard Hat Harry" and his show on monster trucks. Caleb has every word memorized and is in love with monster trucks.

Daddy was very excited when he found out there was a monster truck show close by. Mommy was excited that her boys were able to have some  bonding time and create good memories, and she didn't have to go see those loud and crazy machines.

But Jon just loves me so much and knows me so well that he took pictures so I can document this special day for a special boy. I think this will be one of many trips to the Monster Truck Shows.

My little nervous, cautious boy....

Happy (Un)Birthday to My Three Year Old!

Happy Birthday to my sweet sweet boy!!! Ok, so I totally know that it is not your birthday today, or that we are really anywhere near your birthday (cough, cough, Dec. 27)....I didn't forget. I promise. Just didn't write out a blog post and I didn't want to forget...so here we go my sweet son. 

I cannot believe how much I love 3! I think I say that about every age, but it is so incredibly adorable, and cuddly and funny. Throw in a few tantrums and that is your life little buddy. 

I could easily see your transition from 2-3. I hated two. I am sorry, I love you sweet boy, but man, you had me going at two. Especially this summer. OH. MY. WORD. Terrible twos cannot even describe what you put us through little dude. 

The transition from 2-3 was BEAUTIFUL. You started communicating in a deeper way with multiple sentences, asking lots of questions. You are a huge help to baby J, one of the foster kids in our house right now, which helps out your mamma a ton! 

You are a mamma's boy right now. That was not true at 2. I really believe then that you hated me. It's a nice change around here. 

You are a terrible eater. I don't know how you will ever grow, because you don't eat child! Unless it's crackers, especially cheezits. 

You love monster trucks, trains, Thomas and Buzz LightYear. 

I am really excited to what this third year of life will bring to us buddy. I love you more today than when I first met you. You captivate my heart in ways I didn't think possible. And, I love that you are a mamma's boy:) 

We'll work on that. Dad says you can't live with us when you are 35.