First steps!

Well, January has flown by.  Yesterday, Kohen took his first few steps without holding onto anything.  It's exciting to watch our boys grow and develop.

I have another month of Isaac conversations.  I hope he enjoys reading these when he's older.  I know I will enjoy remembering.  Isaac seems to have turned some sort of corner.  A couple of weeks ago both his school teachers and his Sunday school teachers told us that we have a chatterbox (who still listens attentively).  He's also been chatting with workers helping us renovate our basement as well as store employees.  We've known for a long time that he's talkative but it's nice that he's comfortable sharing that part of himself in other environments.

We keep our bathroom door closed as Kohen will head straight for the bathtub and toilet any time the door is open.  Isaac knows to check if anyone is in the washroom before entering.  One day I just went into the washroom to get something.  When I returned to the kitchen Isaac said, "Mommy, when you go in the bathroom, you really should knock.  I think Chippy was in there."  I answered, "I didn't see him."  Isaac responded, "He was in there."  (Chippy is the chipmunk in the Chippy and Skippy stories that Graham tells Isaac.)

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I saw Isaac sitting on the couch one morning, looking at Josiah's photo across the room. He said, "I'm just remembering."

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I was cuddling with Isaac and Kohen on the chair in Kohen's room.  I said, "You are lovely boys."  Isaac replied, "I think Kohen is the loveliest."

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At the breakfast table one morning we were listening to some music and I was commenting on some of the lyrics.  Isaac told me, "Mommy, when I was only two, on one of my apps on Daddy's iPod, Jesus said we didn't have to worry about anything."


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Isaac often likes to whisper things in our ears.  Graham, Isaac, and I were going to go ice skating one afternoon.  Isaac asked to whisper in my ear and told me, "Actually I'm not going."  I let him know that he was going.  He said, "When I was little I couldn't say the word 'actually' but now I can."  (He went skating.)

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Mommy: Isaac, did you say good morning to Jesus this morning?
Isaac: Maybe just Josiah.
Mommy: Do you say good morning to Josiah every morning?
Isaac: Yes.

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Graham often uses the analogy of carrying heavy luggage to explain to Isaac why some things are too old for him.  Tonight Graham told Isaac he needed to preview something first to make sure it would be appropriate for Isaac to watch.  He again brought up the idea of luggage being too heavy for Isaac to carry.  Isaac told Graham that sometimes little boys can push the heavy luggage on wheels. 

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Sleeping at Grandma and Grandpa's house

While in the car on the way to Grandma and Grandpa Lucas' home, Isaac said he wanted to sleep over at their house.  I said we would need to ask them when a good night would be for him to sleep over and plan it.  He said, "Maybe they'll say tonight is a good night."  As you can see from the photo, the conversation went just as Isaac hoped it would.

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I'm enjoying listening to the group Rend Collective.  I liked what one member of the group said on an online video I watched:


"Recently we made a theological breakthrough as a community and it has changed everything about our approach.  We realized that seriousness is not a fruit of the Spirit but joy is.  We come with a gospel worth celebrating before a celebrating King and we think our response as worshipers should be obvious. ... We need to get down to the serious business of joy because the joy of the Lord is our strength.  And after all, heaven's going to be the greatest party of all time and we need to start practicing now.  So don't get caught up in your guilt or failure.  You are forgiven.  You are free and you're worth more to God than you can ever imagine."

It seems completely impossible that Josiah wasn't here this time last year.  I actually stop and think and calculate the dates to convince myself that it's really been as long as it's been since I held him.  Time with Josiah seemed to expand in some ways.  It doesn't seem like we've had Kohen very long and yet so much had happened in Josiah's life by the time he was 11 months old and in a few months Kohen will be the same age as Josiah was when he passed away.

I facilitated at a Bible study last week and I was reminded of how much I enjoy that.  It causes me to dig a little deeper in the Bible and I get more excited about the material.  Part of the lesson was on submission in marriage.  Some people are put off by that word but I think it's an incredibly powerful and beautiful idea and ideal.  Its implementation is usually flawed due to human error but the potential in choosing to serve another and putting them first, out of love, is an amazing picture.

We will soon be able to use our basement for something other than storage.  Graham and I are both very excited to move most of the toys downstairs.  It would be so nice if it could be finished by the end of February but that will depend on when the carpet arrives.  Graham was busy painting today.

Thank you for your prayers!

Blessings,
Elizabeth

John 14:6

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.