big boy in a big bed

I felt like today was the day. The day for Ronin to sleep in the bottom bunk of those famous bunk beds. So I laid him down with his regular blankie and stuffed animal, and he went right to sleep. Amazing!

Jesus in the tube

Today we spent quite a bit of our day at the hospital, so I could get a shot. We were all over the place: in our clinic, at the lab, and then to the Carson Care Clinic where they actually administer the shot. But before the shot, it's the waiting room.

There was a 19 month old with a feeding tube, and the nurse was explaining the tube to Davis. He asks her, "Have you heard about Jesus and the tube?" My mind went into overdrive...tube...tube...what could he be talking about? And it hit me, tomb. I say to him and the nurse, "tomb, I think you mean tomb."

With that, Davis continued, and the nurse asked questions. He told her how he died on the cross and the people put nails in his hands and his feet. She asked why he died, and he told her it was to save everyone. She asked specifically for who, for Jacob (the boy with the feeding tube), for her, for Ronin, for me, for Jacob's mommy? Yes, for all of them.

In the fifth floor waiting room, my son told this nurse the gospel. She responded with enthusiasm and even encouraged him as she was leaving, "Keep telling people about Jesus!"

davis the scholar

Davis wanted to write to Kevin, so I put him in my lap and let him pound away at the keyboard. He loves it when I make words out of the craziness that he types. After he was finished typing, I asked if there was anything he wanted me to type for Daddy. This is what erupted from our four year old:

cow makes a noise
man makes a pan into a word

he puts the blinds up to fix 'em

he bakes the blinds in the oven

he puts a pillow in the telescope

and the chair is on his doorbell

the cow eats grass under mud

he makes the cow into a bad guy

Sounds like poetry to me!

good job, mom

In the past two weeks or so, Ronin has started asserting his independence. While this is a great sign of growth and maturity, it also makes my days a little more challenging.

I try to really encourage him when he listens and obeys, telling him, "Good job, Ronin!"

A few days ago, I tied Ronin's shoes and when I was done, he said to me, "Good job, Mom!" He now does this for several things: when I buckle his seatbelt, when I change his diaper, or when I fix something. I feel incredibly blessed since it's usually years before your kids tell you you've done a good job!

a preacher in our midst

This morning, we were heading out the door to go to Borders. I had to run back in to grab something and that's when I heard him: speaking (and quite loudly) to every townhome in our block. He was talking about how God is good, Jesus is our Saviour, Jesus is God's son, we need to praise Him, and thank Him.

Once I was outside, he assured me that he wasn't praying, he was preaching.

It was Davis at the top of our steps, passionately declaring these things about God. He told me he was preaching to everyone, not just me, which is reassuring since I was inside for half of it. It is pretty hard for me to imagine life without an internal filter, but Davis helps me see what it would be like to put my heart where everyone could see and helps me not be so afraid to share what I'm so passionate about either.

tagged.

I'm not usually a fan of these games, but this one was actually kind of fun. Here are the rules:

1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer.
2) Select the 4th picture in the folder.
3) Explain the picture.
4) Tag 4 people to do the same. No cheating (cropping, editing, etc.) Have fun!!

This is Ronin and his friend, Wesley. Playing in his front yard. They had just finished drawing all over the sidewalks with chalk. I think Ronin's legs were a wonderful array of colors from all the dust.

I'll tag:

Emily, Kristi, Sunny, and Courtni

SEC

The Army is full of acronyms, this one stands for Special Events Center. It is the location of every Welcome Home Ceremony that will take place in the coming days and weeks. This morning I drove by and the place was packed; cars filled the lots and more were parked as close as possible.

This means only one thing at this particular time: Soldiers are home.

Not mine, not yet, but just the thought of that place full of embraces, smiles, and reunion brought tears to my eyes knowing that it's coming soon.