Well, I am a little behind on writing this, but I have FINALLY sat down to write a journal entry for your 4th Birthday.
Where
do I begin? It seems just like yesterday we were heading to the doctor
office to confirm that we were pregnant with you...heading to our first
OB appointment...having our ultrasound to find out if you were a boy or
a girl...being showered with gifts...going to the OB once a
week...heading to the hospital...FINALLY meeting you...heading home from
the hospital.
We are so thankful for you and the boy that you
is creating you to be. I just stand in awe as we learn how God has
wired you...I can already see the things that you are passionate
about...one being the love you have for people...I see it with your
sisters, with Mommy and Daddy, with the youth group. I can only imagine
how God is going to use that passion!!! I can't wait to see the young
man you will be coming one day...but honestly, I'm not in too much of a
hurry...I still enjoy those moments when you want to cuddle on the couch
and read a book or watch a TV show...when you come crawling into our
bed full of energy and ready to face the day...the hugs you
spontaneously give me.
You are becoming such a
gentleman...you hold your sister's hand while we walk to the car or
cross the street...you help her into the van...you hold the door open
(when it's not too heavy for you! 
).
Now, there are moments when you aggreviate the mess out of your sister,
but the majority of the time, you are super sweet to her.
I
know you hear Mommy and Daddy say this quite a bit, but we are so
honored to have been chosen to be your parents. We are so proud of you
and who you are becoming. We love you more than words could ever say.
Happy 4th Birthday, Josiah Potter!!!
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!!!
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: 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
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.
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!
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!
