3 years, already?

I can't believe that we have a 3 year old!!  Seriously, where has the time gone!?!?   Josiah has grown up so much over the last three years.  He has gone from a crying baby who just wanted to be held and to sleep and to be fed to a sweet, smart boy who wants to grow up to be a man so he can have a wife and a baby.  He continues to be so sweet with Sophie--he holds the door for her when we are leaving to go somewhere; he holds her hand when we are walking through the parking lot or walking to our car from our house; he goes and gives her a hug when she is hurt.  With the new baby, he reminds us to pray for Baby G to keep growing in Mommy's belly.  These are things that make my heart skip a beat because he is learning how to be sensitive to those around him.

Are there times when I have a moment of sadness as I look at him and see how much he has grown?  Absolutely!!!  But I wouldn't slow time down for anything because I look forward to seeing how God is going to use Josiah and how He is going to grow him into the young man He desires him to be.

Josiah Potter, we are so thankful that you are a part of our family.  We are so priveleged to be called your mom and dad.  We look forward to many more years of watching you grow. We love you very much!!!

The Beginning of a Relationship

Well, I know it has been a LONG time since I have made the effort to write a journal. That is my fault and I will try to do better....now on to the topic for the day.

About 2 weeks ago, Josiah and I were riding to Sam's. As we were getting in the car he asked me "Hey Daddy, where is Jesus?" I told him that He was in heaven with God but that if he asked Jesus to be with him that Jesus would. Then I dropped the matter got in the car and we started down the road to Sam's.

After a few minutes of driving and conversation, Josiah goes back to the subject and tells me, "Hey Daddy, I want Jesus to always be with me." So, I told him that if he prayed and asked Jesus to come and be with him that Jesus would come and that he would never have to be alone again. I then asked him if he wanted to say a prayer. He said yes and so we said a simple repeat after me prayer for Him to ask Jesus to always come and be with him.

It was a great moment and a wonderful beginning to his desire to connect to God. And just to inject a bit of realism....the rest of the day went downhill fast and he was in trouble a lot. But hey! Satan can't be happy about such things so why be surprised.  We are thankful and blessed to have such a wonderful boy. I look forward to the days ahead.

That's all for now! Please keep us in your prayers.

Chris

Josiah Funny

Josiah funny: We were talking about the new baby and how there was a baby growing in my belly.  Josiah said he wanted a baby in his belly.  I explained to him that only girls can have babies in their bellies.  He thought about my comment for a few seconds and then responded with, “I need a wife.”  What a sweet and smart little man!  He is definitely excited about the new baby to say the least!  Chris then asked him if he wanted us to help him find a wife or if he wanted to do it on his own.  He told us he wanted to do it on his own.  Then Chris told him that there was someone who could help him.  Josiah wanted to know who.  Chris told him that God could help him find a wife.  Josiah thought about it and then said, "God and me will find a wife."  That is our prayer for him--that God is preparing a wife right now for him. 

CHRISTmas through the eyes of a child

CHRISTmas is just around the corner, and I'm enjoying seeing CHRISTmas thru the eyes of Josiah.  The excitment he has each morning as he sees the CHRISTmas tree never gets old.  This year, we have given him the responsibility to turn on the tree lights each morning and let me tell you he takes it very seriously!!  He even remembers to turn off the lights when we leave the house for an errand---I think he is taking after his Daddy on this one!!    I love how he says, "Daddy's favorite one," as our 1996 Olympic ornament plays the Olympic theme song.  There are times throughout the day where he will stand with his arms behind his back just gazing at the lights and ornaments.  One of his favorite ones to look at is a church that lights up.  He takes great responsibility in making sure Sophie isn't getting any of the ornaments, and he is quick to let me know if she is heading towards the tree.  I have to praise the Lord that we haven't had any big issues with her attacking the tree.  Honestly, I thought it was going to be a lot worse than it has been--she wasn't given the nickname "The Beast" for nothing!!!   

This year, we have been doing advent on a more consistent basis.  The last four Sundays, we lit four small candles.  The first one was the Candle of Hope, the second was the Candle of Love, the third was the Candle of Joy and the last one was the Candle of Peace.  The last week or so, Josiah has really had a desire to light the tall white candle--The Christ Candle.  Each day, we tell him, we don't light it until CHRISTmas Eve.  The next day, he is ready to light it again.  His excitement to light the Christ Candle is challenging to me because the excitment he has as he anticipates the lighting of this candle should be the same excitment I have as I anticipate CHRISTmas morning.  Josiah has challenged me to slow down and remember the real reason for CHRISTmas--the coming of our Savior. 

I have also enjoyed his sensitive spirit.  He is so willing to go and do things for others.  This year, we have donated money in honor of our family to help four kids get adopted.  We gave Josiah three options--to buy shoes for boys & girls, to buy diapers for babies or to help some boys & girls  get a Mommy and Daddy.  His immediate response was, "Help get Mommy and Daddy."  I pray that this spirit to take care of others continues to grow within him.

In just a few days, CHRISTmas will come and go, but I look forward to the tradition of The Twelve Days of Christmas we started last year.  I took the box out tonight to look at it, and I can't wait to go over each of the symbols with Josiah and Sophie.  Last year, Josiah really enjoyed having our Twelve Days of Christmas devotional, but this year I look forward to him being able to communicate what each item symbolizes about the Christian faith.  This year I will try to take pictures from each night and post in the album, so you can get a glimpse of how we live our life. 

Look Who's Two

Two years ago today, God blessed us with a sweet baby boy.  Never in a million years would I have imagined how much this little boy would change my life.  I'm so thankful that God chose us to be his parents.  I find myself overwhelmed with emotion as I think about our Sweet Josiah.  He brings so much joy to our family.

We had a fun time Saturday celebrating his second birthday with friends and family.  We had his birthday party at our church and decorated with a jungle theme.  It meant a lot to have our friends and family there who love Josiah so much.  One thing that is hard about being in the ministry is the fact that we will more than likely never live down the street from any of our family.  Our children will never have their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins in the same town.  We have been blessed to have people who have adopted Josiah and Sophie as their grandchildren and nephew/niece.  It means A LOT to Chris and I to see our children being loved on by others who truly do care about them.

So I've gone off on a little tangent...let's get back to the party.  We had quite a few kids there and they LOVED that they could run around the sanctuary and throw balls.  A few of the adults even got in on the fun!!!    Sophie did a super job considering that she didn't have her morning nap.  Josiah got LOTS of new toys.  We only let him open up a couple of them and have put the rest down in the guest room closet.  Can we say that it looks like a toy store!?!?!  He got A LOT of bubble items which were a BIG hit.  Chris and I had to chuckle because all of the bubble toys came from people who serve in the nursery on Sundays where Josiah is constantly asking for bubbles!    He got a bubble gun and a bubble lawn mower--two gifts that Daddy seemed a little excited about!!  I will post some pictures some time this week when I have some down time--Chris is on a mission trip for the week.  A couple of the grandmas are coming to stay throughout the week, so I'm not all alone.   I'm so thankful that they are able to take some time off from work and willing to travel here, so I wouldn't have to be all alone. 

I want to take a minute to reflect on all that our two year old can do.

*He can now run, feed himself, speaks words that we can understand, knows 12 shapes, knows all his colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, white, brown and black), can identify all of the letters when I ask him to point to them, can name almost all of his letters, can tell us that he is 2, can read 36 of his words from his reading program, he is eating the same things that we eat, loves to draw, loves to play with play dough, he loves to swim, loves his little sister and is so very gentle with her, loves to sing songs--especially, The Wheels on the Bus, he helps set the table, helps with the laundry, loves to help vacuum, helps put the dishes away, loves to help me cook, loves putting puzzles together and sleeps in a big boy bed. 

I know there is a ton more that he can do, but these are just a few things that we've enjoyed watching him learn how to do over the last year.  We look forward to watching him learn a whole bunch more things this coming year.  Happy Birthday, Josiah!!!  Remember, Mommy and Daddy love you very much and consider it a great honor to be your parents!

Melting Hearts

Well, I just feel like I need to write a special journal entry for our first born.  Today, he is 23 months--WOW, where has the time gone!?!  Last year on this day, Chris and I found out that Josiah was not going to be our only child anymore.  I can remember being excited about having another baby, but at the same time a little sad.  I didn't feel like I had enough time with just Josiah.  I worried that he would feel neglected one the new baby got her.  Well, I can say now that those worries where just worries, and I wasted a lot of time fretting.  Josiah has done a great job adjusting to having a baby sister and has learned so much!  In the last year, he has started walking (and "running"), talking, sleeping through the night and eating table food.  He has learned how to read some words, recognizes shapes and letters. He has become a tremendous helper by putting the silverware on the table, helping us get drinks for our meals, takes his own rag to clean and even helps push the vacuum clearner.  But the things that make our hearts melt is the way that he loves life and the people around him.  He has a contagious laugh and a silliness about him that makes us want to be silly with him, too.  The way that he loves and protects his little sister is so precious, and I pray that this relationship will last the rest of their lives.  The way that he asks for his Bible and devotional in the morning or after dinner how he wants to pray for the next person on our prayer wall.  I'm so thankful that I've been able to stay home with him every day to invest in his life.  I pray that one day when I stand before the Lord, He will tell me that I've been a faithful servant by raising our children in way that glorifies Him.  I can't believe that in one month we will be 2 years old.  We look forward to watching him grow over the next year and be a part of all that he learns.  We will continue to praise the Lord for choosing us to be his parents. We love you, Josiah Potter, and we are so honored to be your parents!

More from Josiah

Well, Josiah is really getting to the fun stage.  As he is learning more and more words, we find ourselves laughing more and more each day. 

*This week, we were out running some errands.  Chris was putting Josiah into the car and was fussing about the sunshade on his window.  I bought some stick on sun shades months ago.  I then made the comment that he just needed to go ahead and hang them up.  Chris then said that he wasn't going to do it until the weather was above 30.  Then out of Josiah's mouth, "Do it! Do it! Do it!"  Chris and I both started laughing so hard!  Then Chris started playing with him and saying, "I'm not gonna do it!"  Josiah's response, "Do it! Do it! Do it!"  I guess I will hand over the reins and let Josiah do the nagging for me! 

*Earlier in the week, Josiah and I were working some with his letters.  I decided to go ahead and see if he knew any of the letters.  By the time we went through the alphabet, he pointed out 16 of the 26 letters!  He didn't tell me the names of the letters, but he could point to the letter after I placed three letters for him to choose from. 

*The other day, I was cleaning the bathroom.  I had my rags out on the edge of the bath tub.  I sprayed the inside of the shower and closed the door to let the cleaner sit for a few minutes.  I turned around and there was Josiah with a rag "cleaning" the shower for me. 

*At the beginning of the week, we went to finish up Josiah's H1N1 shot.  He was such a BIG boy because he didn't even cry when he got his shot. 

Well, that is it for now.  We'll keep you posted on the latest antics of Josiah.