In Name Only

Joshua Patton Nolen

Ring Bearer

Looking sharp in his wedding attire!

The flower girls were loving every minute of it.

The beautiful bride; so calm and relaxed.

The ring bearer asleep during the ceremony.

That's right...the ring bearer...slept through the ceremony.  After a Friday night rehearsal full of tears and crying and a complete emotional breakdown prior to the wedding we pulled Joshua from the line-up.  He enjoyed a much needed power nap down the hall.  Notice his foot peaking out from under the coat/blanket...a sure sign of deep sleep for this little guy.

Trevor and Jessica were married and the party began. 

Joshua was energized by his nap and enjoyed the celebration with Aunt B.  He even allowed the photographer to take some pictures of him.  Can't wait to see them.

Trevor and Jessica were gracious to ask Joshua to be a part of their day.  They showered him with Star Wars action figures as a thank you for his help.  Dave wisely identified the grace Trevor and Jessica showed Joshua...unmerited favor...getting the opposite of what we deserve.
Welcome (officially) to our family Jessica!

Recently I heard...

"Mama, allergies make us sick and sometimes germs.  But God heals us so we aren't sick.  Like he healed me when I throwed up at Donuts with Dad at my school.  Curious George was sick from germs because he didn't wash his hands." 

"Dad, I took off my pants because my legs needs to rest."

"Hey mama, look at me.  I am a good guy soldier.  I shoot people!"

Our first attempt at ring bearer duties is this weekend.  We took Joshua to our church tonight so he could practice because earlier this week he said, "Mama, I feel a little nervous about helping Trevor in his wedding."  Tonight after our practice he said, "I don't feel very nervous anymore."  We are hoping for a good showing.  I'm sure there will be pictures and stories from the exciting wedding weekend in next week's blog...stay tuned!

More Star Wars tales

Dave has set up obstacle courses for Joshua to practice fighting. Joshua believes he is receiving Jedi training like Luke Skywalker.

 

Should I be concerned about the apparent chopping taking place after the attack?

Obsession

Joshua's current favorites:
song: Nothing but the Blood of Jesus (recently sung at the top of his lungs from bed) followed by "the Darth Vader Song" (recently hummed at a loud volume while sitting in church waiting for the service to start)
movie: Star Wars
toy: light sabers
sport: baseball (similar swing to a light saber)
book: Star Wars ABC
topic of conversation: Star Wars battle scenes
game: Storm troopers using blasters to fight Darth Vader and his light saber

Joshua is obsessed with Star Wars and Dave couldn't be happier. 

Goal!

J: "Mama, back when I was in college I played baseball."

A: "Who did you play for?"

J: "The Team."

Say Cheese!

Despite the previous series of pictures, Luke is one of the happiest little guys I have ever been around.



Say What?

~
Joshua: "Dad, what is that on your neck?"
Dave: "A mole"
J: "It looks like a meatball."
D: "Thanks, now brush your teeth."
~
In response to Amelia saying "there sure are a lot of mosquitoes out here tonight"  Joshua replies, "I don't get bites by mosquitoes because I have good eyes and can see them and they go away because my eyes are like scare eyes to mosquitoes."
~
Joshua: "Mama, does Joseph have a wallet?"
Amelia: "Joseph who?"
J: "Joseph in the Bible."
A: "I'm not sure if he had a wallet.  Why?"
J: "Joseph in the Bible had lots of money and food to help him brothers.  And a rainbow robe.  Maybe when the Bible has holes in it and I am in the Bible, and there is magic, I can talk to Joseph to see if he has a wallet with money or just money in his pocket."
A: OK. 
~

All Alone

This morning while Dave was putting on his shoes and Joshua was playing with his firemen the following conversation took place:

J: We don't want to be all alone.  When I was a little boy, I was all alone.  I didn't have any friends.

D: You've always had lots of friends.

J: But when I was a little boy in the jungle I didn't have any friends.  I just had a monkey and he was my friend.  And me and my friend monkey were all alone.  But then there was a tiger and he was our friend.  And then a lion and a crocodile and a penguin.  They were our friends too.

Today when I picked Joshua up from school he had something in his hand.  He said, "I found this money on the floor at school and there was something brown by it too."  Unfortunately my mind immediately assumes the grossest possibility.

At dinner tonight Joshua proudly shared that he and Dave listened to "Get on the Road Again" and "Poncho and Lefty" in the car on the way to school this morning.  He was also able to correctly identify Willie Nelson as the singer of both songs.  So glad we are exposing him to the classics. 

a story...by joshua

As Joshua likes to say, "This is awesome!"

Sunday while enjoying a snack outside Joshua shared this original story with Dave:

"Once upon a time, I was travelling the county in Texas, riding on a horse.  Then I heard a noise and Jesus, no, not Jesus, his father, God came and said, "Joshua come to heaven" but I said, "I'm too busy."  Then God went away. 

I went to our house and momma and dad are not there.  I heard you calling for me to rescue you. 

And Darth Vader and the sand people had put you in carbonite and momma was in a bush with bees and her got stang.  I put band aids on her.  The End."

We went to the Open House at the Vet School a couple weekends ago.  Joshua go to see bunches of different animals but the Clydsedales were his favorites.

Joshua enjoys "helping" me cook.  This picture was taken as he used his hammer to crush crackers for a casserole.  But he couldn't start his cooking until he had "the right shoes on."  So naturally he put on his fireman rain galoshes.

 We have been encouraging Joshua to keep his pants on and not take them off as soon as we come in the house.  (As you faithful readers are very aware, he loves to be pants-less)  This week Joshua has been complaining of "tired legs" and requests to "rest my legs."  Only tonight did I realize he takes off his pants to rest his legs.  Sneaky!

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.

Laughter

Beautiful weather + a new bubble gun = hysterical laughter!

Taking a break in the spring

Spring Break took us to South Carolina to visit family. To say that Joshua is a champion car rider is an understatement. We made it a little over 400 miles Saturday with only one 15-minute stop and no tears or tantrums. What an answer to prayer!

Joshua loved having undivided attention from the Nolens. Buddy showed Joshua that popcorn can be popped in something besides a microwave.

Gran and Joshua read stories.


Dave and Joshua lined up Star Wars figurines while discussing "who is a good guy?" and "why?" and "who is a bad guy?" and "why?"

Buddy, Joshua and Dave played basketball in the driveway.

Buddy, Joshua and Dave played soccer in the driveway.

Buddy, Joshua and Dave played football in the driveway.

Joshua got to parade around Gran Robbye's assisted living facility as though he were a royal dignitary from a far away rich land.

And the same thing happened at Grandma's assisted living.

We had a sweet time visiting family we don't get to see often. We were blessed with beautiful weather and lots of memories.