Month of Thanks - Day 2

Today, I am thankful for Tim.

How could you take one look at this little face and not be grateful to have him in your life?

Tim so full of such goodness and joy. He wakes up every morning full of love, smiles, and kisses. (I'm CERTAINLY not that cheerful when I wake up!) I love those first quiet moments in the morning when we all have a chance to snuggle together as he tells Jake and I "Hi!" - even if he is RIGHT up in our face to do it. Usually it is accompanied by a kiss, which sweetens it. 

Tim is a great helper. He loves to put things in the trash can. Occasionally this is problematic when he picks out what he thinks is garbage... Usually, he waits for us to hand him something and ask him to "Put this in the garbage." He loves to help me cook and make dinner. He likes to help stir things. If I'm cutting things up and he can't safely help, he will wait and put  the cut pieces into whatever pot or bowl they need to go into. If we are going outside, he knows to go find his shoes and bring them to the front door. Frequently, he will even bring us OUR shoes to help speed up the process!

Tim loves to greet people and then wish them goodbye. One of his favorite afternoon activities is to sit on my lap by the road or parking lot. We will wait for "cah"s. Everytime one drives past, Tim will jump up, wave to them, and say bye bye! 

Everyday we are amazed at how much Tim learns and how smart he already is. He can work our phones like a champ. He knows how to get to all of his apps, where to link to the youtube videos he watches, how to use the home and back buttons, even how to turn on airplane mode (although he can't turn it off yet, which frustrates him). He knows where his eyes, ears, nose, mouth, bellybutton, "doo-doo" (little boy bits, also the same word he uses for diaper), hair, and feet are. When we read books, he will point out things he knows the words for (hat, puppy, car, ball, balloon.....) He knows what sound a cat, puppy, cow, and turtle make. (Turtles hiss, in case you were wondering). He can "Sssshhhh" himself when he knows he's being too loud. He knows where we keep the cookies and treats - he'll point to the top of the fridge and ask for cookies. He knows more words than I can even keep track of at this point, although some of his favorites right now are "bup" and "dow" (up and down). As an active little boy who loves climbing and jumping off of things, he gets LOTS of practice with these two!

Tim LOVES to talk on the phone with my parents - "Mommy" and "Bapa" as he calls them. He will hold up any little toy to his ear and walk around saying "Hi! Mommy! Hi Bapa!"

Tim is also so inherently GOOD. He loves to pray. He will sit and fold his arms and *usually* sit through the whole prayer. Except for sometimes at church when people ramble on a bit too much for his taste. Jake shared this story a few months ago (Sept 20) on facebook that moved me to tears:

Mary has rehearsal tonight, so I just put Tim to bed  alone. Sometimes this goes well, and sometimes not, but tonight was awful. From the moment we came back in the house he was screaming at the top of his lungs. (right in my ear most of the time) For 15 minutes straight, he was yelling as loud as he could. Through his diaper change, his clothing change, toothbrushing, he didn't even

want to turn the light on and off or play in the pillows. (which he usually loves) Having basically given up hope, I took him into his room, gave him his turtle and blanket, and said a prayer holding him by his bedside. At first he was still howling, but after a minute or so he quieted, folded his arms, and put his head on my shoulder. I finished our prayer, and sang him a lullaby, and he went right to sleep.
This gives me three thoughts, first, God loves me and my son, and my son loves God back. (Which warms my heart in a way not many out there will understand) Second, prayer is very powerful to soothe even the angriest soul. And third (and perhaps most importantly) if I have this problem again, I should pray at the beginning and not wait till the end.

Today, while I was changing Tim's diaper before his nap, he folded his arms (like we do for prayer) and started saying "Dada, mama, dada". Jake has a big Physical Chemistry Midterm today, so we took the moment to say a special prayer to help "Dada" on his exam. 

With such a good, strong little spirit like this around, how could I not pause and be grateful for the opportunity and responsibility I have to know him and teach him?