milestones and 3 year old theology.

Not a whole lot has been taking place in our household. As we wind down from what seemed like a big "gear up," life seems quite normal. Our normal schedules have persisted. As the spring kicks into gear, Jonathan's real estate work has started to fill his time (praise God!). I am so proud of him for having the courage to follow his dreams into an occupation that was (and is) teetering on the brinks at the moment. He has had incredible favor from God. That, coupled with his creativity, his genuine personality, and his work ethic have afforded him the opportunity to do things no one really thought possible in the world of realty for a newcomer. I'm very proud.

Someone asked me today about what new things Josiah was doing these days, which sent me into a great realization. I can't really think of any more monumental milestones for him. He is learning to count to 20 instead of 10? He is a walking, talking, potty-trained little person. His development most recently has been more subtle, as it has all been intellectually as he learns to process the world around him. We are working on his ability to dress and undress himself, which he can do but often loses patience for. I am trying really hard to let him struggle to do things on his own and then offering abundant amounts of praise when he accomplishes a feat he thought was too difficult. This goes back to one of the larger themes I have discovered, which is good parenting requires patience---and that the majority of one's life cannot be rushed, lest you become impatient. Sometimes I forget how impatient I can be when I have in my head that we are just going to dash into a store for a couple of things and then dash back out. Anyway, I'm trying to make sure we aren't in a rush when he is dressing, lest I just do it myself.

We are trying to instill in him how to value other people, which came out the other day when Jonathan was at a home inspection and Josiah took it upon himself to shove his head down into the crawlspace and yell, "hey you, in the dark, what are you doing under there? What's your name?" It also happened when two weeks after a trip to a restaurant he asked me about our waitress by name.

Today Josiah ran a mysterious fever through the night and into the afternoon, so we lounged around cuddling all day. As we were praying before bed I asked God to "let the blood and body of Jesus bring healing to Josiah." He went along with it, but then said, "okay, now pray for my baby sister but don't say 'Amen' because I want to pray, too." He prayed, "Please God, heal my body so I won't have a fever, but don't let Jesus make me bloody. Amen." Enter--theological discussion with a 3 year old about what the blood and body of Jesus stand for. We talked about how when Jesus died on the cross he gave his blood so that we could be free from sin and disease. Explaining the death of Jesus through the giving of his body and blood seems like such a gruesome thing when discussing it with a 3 year old, but he took it all in as fact and didn't seem shaken by the idea. It also reminded me how often I glaze the sacrifice over myself--how I forget how gruesome and humiliating His death really was. It's hard to explain the most important story to a child who probably doesn't have a very firm grasp on the idea of death yet. I asked him if he understood, and he said yes. He seemed quite happy with the idea that Jesus would give something for him, or that through Jesus' gift he could receive healing. He was definitely no longer concerned about becoming bloody himself. haha.

I did just think of one "thing" Josiah is doing lately...which is playing baseball remarkably well. He can use a metal, regulation size bat (for a 5-7 year old or so) and a regular baseball, and as long as you pitch into his strike zone he will crank it every time. We think this is pretty remarkable for an age where kids struggle with t-ball. He hits 20 feet homers, then runs around the yard saying, "Get off me, ball!" thanks to his uncle Christopher. I need to get it on video soon so the colleges can start making bids on who wants to pay for my child's higher education besides me.