I don't want him to get lost in the shuffle...
After all, he is #4...
And if I'm not intentional, I can see him getting left behind.
So I decided that I would use our time (just Jed and me) and give Jed a little heads up on what he's getting himself into. I held him on my chest for a few hours and told him everything I could think of to prepare him for our crazy little household.
I told him him how incredible his Papa is. How madly in love with him I am and always will be. I told him how hard his Papa works and how he makes funny faces and tells jokes when Mama is having a bad day. He thinks he's so funny. And the truth is... he really is funny... and he knows how to brighten Mama's day. I warned him how his Papa smells good most of the time but he has some of the worst gas that anyone has ever had to deal with! I told him to be prepared. :)
I told Jed all about his incredible brother Siah. I told him about the ways that Siah had been praying for his arrival for several months. I told him about how good Siah was on his bike... and I told him that I was confident that Siah would gladly teach him everything he knows. I told him that as he grows up, Siah will be the kind of brother that watches out for him with great joy and pride.
I told him about Hal... how sweet and tender she is... How she'll probably constantly want to hold him and feed him and change him and coddle him... and how if he gets annoyed with the excess amount of love that he's getting from his sweet loving sister he needs only to scream and I will gladly come to his rescue.
And when I started to think of what I should say about his big sister Reesie... well, I decided that a warning would be more appropriate... So I told little Jed,
"Sweet boy, watch out for that sister of yours. She may talk nice but she's got a firm grip. Your interactions with her might go something like this... "nice pat, nice pat, WHACK, WHACK, WHACK!" So watch out my little man!"
I told him that she'll probably smother him in kisses and shove her big furry kitty in his face over and over again. But he'll get used to it... Just like the rest of us have gotten used to it.
Check out the progression of how Reesie "Loves on" her little brother below...
1. Looks on like an innocent bi-stander.
2. Slowly makes her move.
3.Goes in for the eye poke.
4. Stashes key chain in her shirt... so that... next time....
5. She CAN USE BOTH HANDS to "Love on," I mean, WHACK her little brother....
Welcome to the world Jed! :) Don't worry, your Papa and I are here to protect you. :)
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I told him how much we love Jesus in our home and how we strive with our whole hearts to love each other the way that He loves us. I confessed that we struggle, and struggle often, to always do this. But we pray a lot and we are learning daily to give and receive each others forgiveness.
I told him about his Mama and how I can seem sort of grouchy in the mornings but I usually perk up by the mid morning. I told him how much I love tea and how I eat a bowl of cereal almost every night before I go to bed. I told him how aware I am that he is one of the greatest treasures that the Lord has ever given me and that I will never be without gratitude for his little life.
I told him about his three brothers gone to be with Jesus. I told him about how precious this life is... how we only have one chance... and how the best way to live out our one chance is in the arms of our sweet Savior Jesus Christ!
I told him about where we used to live and how beautiful the ocean was and how dear our friends were (and are). I told him about where we live now. I warned him about "Falcon" and how it has been a "special" place to live... and how there have been a lot of "special needs" there. I reminded him (and maybe myself too :), how even with all the little corks in our "kansas home" we are truly truly blessed to have that roof over our head. And how the most important part of that home is truly the family that loves and lives inside of it. I told him about how quaint our little house was, about how I love making our house feel like a home with pictures of our family scattered around, comfy blankets on the couch ready for us to climb up under and read a book with, and lots of homemade yumminess in the fridge. I told him about my obsession with vacuuming and how I tend to be a control freak but how with each treasure I am learning to let go of that a little bit more. So in that sense... He's pretty lucky to be #4. :)
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As I was wrapping up my hour long mantra of information with my son,
I looked down on my chest where he was whimpering a bit and got completely overcome by a sense of gratitude.
Four... Healthy... Living... Breathing... Crying... Treasures.... entrusted to me... Oh my goodness Lord... Thank you!
Just few more pics...
