Deck the walls.

Josiah has had some big changes to his living space in the last couple of days. On Friday night we picked up a painting that we purchased from a friend. He painted it during our Father's Day church service. That was the Sunday that Josiah got so ill with a fever, so I did not see the painting created; however, Jonathan came home from church insisting that we must make room (in our budget and our home) for this painting. The painting is called 'Generational Blessing.' The painting started with a dead tree. The painter, Matt Armstrong, then added the little boy watering the tree, followed by foliage returning to the branches. The painting was to symbolize a boy who did not receive the blessings of the Lord from the generations above him, but breaking the generational curse and being grown in the Lord, is now able to sow back into the tree above him (the family tree). As he pours out blessings into the tree, it begins to find new life.

Jonathan really wanted to put it in Josiah's room, so we rearranged the whole room to make room for this gigantic piece of art. Matt was making some touch ups over the last month, so I got to see it for the first time on Friday night. I think it is beautiful!

The other big addition to Josiah's space is...dun dun dun...a train table. I think most parents of two-four year old boys end up with one of these in their living spaces, but for some reason I thought I was going to avoid it. Where do you really keep something so large?! We came across it at a garage sale in our neighborhood on Saturday, and while we thought Josiah might like it we weren't sure we were ready to commit. The lady called us at the end of the day to say it had not sold, so we decided to take it off their hands. It came with loads of track and more trains than we would dream to buy...ever. In fact, we now have an entire drawer filled with trains. It has been a dream come true for Josiah.

Yesterday Josiah and I took some time to create what I happen to think is a FABULOUSLY elaborate train track. I am also hoping he has no intention of pulling it apart, as I don't know I could master it again. He loves the new table and has spent the majority of his play time consumed at it. The table isn't obtrusive as of yet, as I had already rearranged Josiah's room to make room for a crib one day. Now, the question is what will happen when we need room for both...

We figure we have some time until we have to make other arrangements, as Josiah stayed in our room for the first six months of his life and we anticipate the new baby will do the same.