80-years young

We celebrated GG's 80th birthday last weekend.

Lots of family, lots of cake, lots of noise, lots of fun!

The birthday girl showing off her delicious cake.

GG with her kids
(from L to R and as Joshua calls them "Tom Tom, Aunt Joy, GG, Coach and Great Gay")

This happy couple's wedding will certainly be the subject of at least one future blog post as Joshua and Abigail are participating. 

Boy cousins just chilling waiting on the cake to be cut.

Great Aunt Rosie came from Nashville to surprise GG.



something was super funny!

Coach, Nana and the kiddos

We were grateful for the opportunity to celebrate GG and spend some time with extended family.  Joshua was convinced that GG was "turning 6, because 6 is grown up."  
Aunt Rosie summed it up the best, "this was a super, colossal, deluxe party!" 

3.25 years of age

Joshua is 3 and 1/4 years old!

The last 3 months have brought much needed and prayer bathed change.  Joshua has been throwing tantrums since the 1.25 years of age post.  There is no need to rehash the gory details but thankfully the last few months have been markedly improved.  The Lord has really worked in Joshua to give him an awareness of his behavior and the insight to now recognize when he is getting upset.  It doesn't always work but frequently Joshua is able to calm himself down before he gets so worked up he needs hand-to-bottom interventions.  Joshua has started voicing and understanding of sin and has on a couple of occasions said, "I don't want to be a sinner" and "God will give me a new heart."  We are grateful for the progress and want to make sure we share it with you and thank you for your prayers.

Joshua loves music.  He loves to "hear the instruments" in church.  Below is a video of him singing the ABC's (again in his underpants-sorry for the frequent lack of pants on this blog).  Joshua's favorite song to listen to in Dave's car is "White Lightning" by George Jones.  Nothing like your 3-year old singing about moonshine on the way to Sunday School!

Super Heroes and Star Wars are the newest obsession in our house.  Joshua has seen a few parts of some of the Star War movies and was immediately smitten.  Dave could not be prouder and the two of them talk about Jedis, light sabers and the difference between storm troopers and sand troopers all the time.  Last week Joshua's class focused on the letter "J" and was asked to bring a toy that starts with "J."  Naturally he took his "Joker" toy to share.

NOTE: The video would not load correctly.  I will try to load it again tomorrow.

Joshua has reported that he wants to be a "fireman, police man, football man, baseball man, dump truck driver and trash truck driver. And dad can ride on the back of the trash truck and I can be the driver."

We are blessed that Joshua, after not sleeping well for the first 18 months of his life, is a good sleeper now.  In fact, Monday morning while Dave was trying to wake Joshua and get him going Joshua said, "Dad, you go make my breakfast while I rest a few more minutes."

Joshua is an awesome kid.  We have tons of fun playing, reading, singing, dancing, running, and talking.

Easter joy

Reading the "story about Jesus on the cross" and "Jesus coming out of the tomb" have been a nightly request over the last couple weeks.  Joshua reports his favorite part of the story is "when Jesus gets arrested by the soldiers, because it is so cool."  I never thought of Jesus' arrest as cool but when I consider that it is a fulfillment of scripture and another example of Christ's willingness to take on my guilt, "cool" is a good descriptor.  

The Egg Hunt at MSU was a hit.  Joshua and I strategically placed ourselves at the back of the hunting area in hopes of buying us a little extra time to collect eggs because...

...before long the mob of people waiting at the front of the hunting area made it our way. Joshua had a blast. And even though the hunt lasted 25 seconds at the very most, he enjoyed every second of it.

Easter pictures have never been a huge success at our house.  And for a few minutes I was afraid this year would be no different. 

But then Dave worked his magic and got Joshua laughing and instantly the Easter pictures everyone hopes for started coming quickly.

We hope you had a Happy Easter!

Sliding with Joshua

Sliding has long been a favorite attraction on the playground.  Recently, Joshua has started the "silly slide"  This video is an example of the silly slide.

 

Now the same slide style from Joshua's perspective.

And finally, a silly slide and Joshua's reaction.