A Red Blessing & Baby Discoveries

We said goodbye to our old BMW this week. We’ve had this vehicle for six years and I can remember standing in the driveway of my in-law’s neighbor’s house looking it over. Dustin and I had only been married a month and while Dustin had a vehicle, I was in need of one. I had quite a bit of money saved up from a job I had had since I was fifteen years old and we knew we had enough to pay cash if the price was right. And though we were very interested in this white ‘97 BMW it was a little more than what we were looking to spend. Long story short, the amount Dustin and I decided was the max we could afford was the exact amount the neighbor dropped the price down to. Considering it was $1,500 below the asking price we were shocked and very excited. I’m a little sentimental about these things but that is because it is a reminder of where Dustin and I were when we first started our life together. The BMW and the story that comes along with it is a just another testimony of how God orchestrated every thing for us. We knew that we wanted to spend our lives together but the doors that opened for both of our jobs and the vehicles we drove, among other things, proved that God was on our side, helping and blessing us as we started our journey together. We now live in another home, Dustin works another job, even I have another occupation, and now we have another vehicle and every single thing mentioned is just another added item to our testimony list of God’s many blessings in our lives. We haven’t always been faithful to Him but He has always, always been so incredibly faithful and good to us. In the material blessings yes, but also in the many spiritual and emotional blessings as well. God is so very good.




With all of that being said, despite the sadness of saying goodbye to my little car, it was time. It failed inspection yet again and after spending $1,000 last year for it to pass, we weren't about to spend the $1,500 it required to pass this year. And so while the timing really wasn’t ideal Dustin and I set out to find a new vehicle. Besides the inspection issues we really had outgrown the car. Two car seats and a double stroller pretty much took all the extra space. Dustin’s knees were hitting the dash so Everett had room and putting anything else in the car meant piling around the kids and dealing with tears on the way home because they were so uncomfortable but we made it work.



Now we no longer have to because five days later after much searching, stress and feeling slightly overwhelmed we found our new car, a 2008, very red, Toyota Camry. Once again God blessed us and we were able to get the type of vehicle we both really liked and wanted and in the price range we needed! We also now have a vehicle that fits our family perfectly and for this we are very thankful!



But discovering a new vehicle hasn’t been the only discovering going on around here. This little guy has learned how to crawl! Well, it’s a half crawl, half scoot your knees forward but he’s able to get around much to the joy of all of us!



However, his favorite thing is to pull himself up.



He pulls himself up on the coffee table, chairs, his toy basket, side tables, his bouncer, the baby gate, the couch and even the wall. Not only does he pull himself up but he has no problem letting go and dropping so he can get down. It does not phase him at all, he’ll drop just so he can pull himself up again.



Crawling is nothing more than a way of getting him to an object he can pull up on. This boy just wants to stand. I’m just waiting for him to start cruising the furniture, I’m pretty sure we are getting close to that milestone. This boy just might be walking by his first birthday!



The other little guy in our family has discovered that when pointing and saying "uh ay ay?", Everettese for "can I have that?", doesn't work objects can be used to get what he wants.



He climbs on the toilet now to get to the sink, climbs on his toys to get on top of the tables or the couch and he has learned that the toy basket doubles as a stepping stool to get to the kitchen counter.

 
And once you get what you want, the toy basket also makes a great seat.



Or it works if you just need a rest.



The other discovery we are also very excited about is that Reid loves sweet potatoes. Thanks to this he has now been eating baby food! He also likes bananas and we are starting to incorporate other foods as well but right now we are just relieved that he is eating solids now. We’re hoping this will help fill this guy’s little belly a little better and will begin to help with his sleeping through the night. Hopefully anyway!



Speaking of new foods, Everett has discovered a love of ketchup. He likes to dip his fork or french fry in it and suck it all off only to dip again and repeat. It’s a messy new favorite but he loves it.



Another thing he loves doing is messing with his little brother. As Everett gets older his energy and need to be physical increases and he doesn’t quite understand that Reid isn’t near that same place yet.


He is always on top of him, rolling over his head and face, tackling him and more than once he has been caught using Reid, who is on all fours, as a stepping stool. One day Reid will be big enough to play the same way but for now we have to keep an eye on his big brother. Little stinker.



For now we try to do things they both can enjoy together. Like blowing bubbles.



Reid loves watching and trying to catch the bubbles.



Everett does too but he also loves to try and blow them himself. He doesn’t really succeed but he sure looks cute trying!



And when Mom and Dad are tired of blowing bubbles the boys enjoy the bubble lawn mower their Mimi got them. Everett pushes it all over the house and will stop and say “oohh” each time the bubbles escape. Bubbles are most definitely a favorite around here!

 
And so are blowing kisses which Everett recently learned how to do.



And of course sticks which Reid has also found a love for.



And laptops which Everett loves for all of their many buttons to push.



But I’ll end this post with a new favorite. I have recently felt, I guess you could say convicted, about what I am doing for my boys in a spiritual sense. We are at church pretty much every time the doors are open but raising my children in the truth really begins with what we do at home. Because they are so young I haven’t done anything other than pray over meals but I felt challenged to do more when I realized my little boy, though only a year old, knows how to worship in his own way and say “hallelujah” because of always being at church. He knows to reach for our hands and to say his own version of “amen” because we always pray over our meals. And so since he has caught on to these things he must not be too young to begin doing a little more. Because of this revelation, Everett, Reid and I now have our own little morning devotions. We read two or three pages of “The Beginner’s Bible” and say a little prayer. It’s a simple prayer, nothing more than telling Jesus we love Him, thanking Him for what we have and asking Him to help us have a good day and be with our family. But Everett is learning and I know Reid will too. Being a parent is hard but I know teaching our boys this will be the greatest thing we can do. I hope and pray that this new favorite discovery will be one we can consistently continue to do. It’s worth it.

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Proverbs 22:6