Turning Two - Growing in Love

My boys are turning two years old tomorrow; that is so hard to believe.  Part of me feels like I was just pregnant with them, then just holding them and soaking them in for the very first time.  I've been thinking of all the prayers I prayed before becoming pregnant.  All the prayers during pregnancy and now every day since their birth.  I thank God for these precious sons He has entrusted to us.  They have enriched our lives beyond words.  They have allowed us to grow in many ways we didn't know we needed to and in others we did.  Our home has become a stronger home and filled with so much love and laughter.  Our home never is quiet or dull.  I have learned to see the world God created in whole new lights!  All of this and more all because of God and the precious sons we love dearly!

There are so many things I capture about them as they grow here on this blog, and honestly more I want to capture about them at this age as they turn two.  But most important of all, I want to capture this time by focusing on their growing hearts and the ways I see God working in their lives.  While growth in knowledge, physical abilities, etc are important, their souls are worth far more.  Watching the transformation and growth of love in their hearts leaves me speechless.

I honestly don't know how to start or where to begin, so I guess I'll start off with the main truths I've been teaching and focusing on with Gavin and Wyatt (and now Luke) since they were born.  1) God made EVERYTHING (which we go into detail...) 2) God made ALL OF US 3) God is LOVE (God loves us, Jesus loves us) 4) We think of Jesus' love for us when we see the cross 5) We need to practice our love for others and ourselves (God helps us with this, we can not do this alone).  That about sums up the basic ideas which of course we stem off of.

All throughout the day we talk about what God has made and 1) Thank Him in all things and for all things 2) Take care of what He has given us.  This allows for us to talk to God all day long; both in formal prayers and common conversation with Him.

Starting from the time they were first born, these teachings started and became so much a part of our daily routine.  With all things, the more we practice the more it becomes natural.  (Now that they are starting to speak more, grasp bigger concepts, etc, I've started to add more and more Scripture to my instruction (and with the age of two comes more independence and testing and thus more discipline and instruction).  This feels very awkward, but I know by the time they understand more, it will be second nature to me.  I pray for the perseverance to continue and the wisdom to instruct them correctly that will raise them to know, love, serve and glorify God.)  Anyways, as the weeks and months go by the fruit is often hard to see at such a young age.  But little by little light shines through!  As they turn two, I am filled with great joy as I watch their hearts begin to transform.  With each little step, I know Christ is working in their hearts!

So if I had to sum up the biggest lesson we talk about every day, ALL DAY, it would be LOVE.  I started to teach 'love' because I realized I had a very hard time teach 'sharing'.  What is sharing after all?  Get a bunch of moms together and each wants her child(ren) to learn sharing.  So each child is told to share, but the 'principles' behind sharing get all jumbled up at this time.  'Share because it is his toy.' 'Share because it is ours and we want them to enjoy it.' 'You have it for a little while and then give so and so a turn.' Etc... What is this teaching children?  I don't know because I'm honestly confused myself!  So... I stopped focusing on 'sharing' and instead started focusing on showing LOVE.

We talk about (not all at one time though!) how God is love and thus God loves us.  We love because He first loved us.  We are called to love others no matter what.  Love is an action not a feeling, thus we choose to love.  Love is the most important practice to learn.

So... this teaching of love is taught in every situation in our home.  When people come over we rejoice and thank God for family and friends and practice our love by making them feel welcome and enjoying our home and 'toys'.  We love our brother and thus we want him to have joy.  When we can not love, we ask God to help us love.  Hurting someone physically or mentally is not love, it 'hurts them' (duh, I know... but they are two...).  We are called to obey our parents (and parents obey God), thus showing them and God love.  We show God we love Him and are thankful by being joyful, not whining, etc.  Etc, Etc...

So, I mention all this to capture a lot of what we've been learning the past two years.  Here is what Gavin and Wyatt's hearts have been up to!

Wyatt is a natural 'lover'.  He delights in taking care of his brother Gavin and now Luke too.  He goes out of his way to get Gavin's water, food, toy, shoes, hats, books, etc.  If Wyatt has something, he wants Gavin to have one too.  While this comes natural to Wyatt, Gavin struggles with this a little more.  It can be (not always) very hard for Gavin to 'share' something with Wyatt.  What ever Wyatt has, Gavin normally wants it.  This past month, Gavin's heart has grown greatly!  He will desire to play with something, then you can see him pause.  He then smiles and gives it to his brother (this is a BIG DEAL on certain toys or food), and runs to me saying, 'share mama, share'!  We then rejoice and talk about how great it is to show love and thank God for helping us show it!  Watching him make the conscious decision to share when it is hard and Wyatt's natural tendency to do so makes me rejoice so greatly!

The first year to year and a half, both boys showed little interest in picking up their toys when Mama told them it was time to help.  These days, Wyatt is an amazing helper and often picks up large tasks without me asking him to!  When cherrios would be spilt on the floor, Gavin used to care less even after I told him it must be picked up (accidents are okay, but we have to pick it up I tell them).  But these days, Gavin shows a much greater effort in picking them up, often on his own!  Both boys LOVE to help me clean, and always have.  They love to vacuum, dust, clean the floors, etc.  I know many children do this, but I find such delight in their cheerful and willing hearts to help Mama.  When they do help me, I make a big deal over their act of love and again we thank God for helping us love.  I know some might think these things minor, but when it comes to the HEARTS of my children, these growths are such huge successes!

Both Gavin and Wyatt are the most amazing snuggle bugs!  They shower us with hugs, kisses and pats all day long.  Gavin loves to pat me on the back and I realized I do this A LOT!  Never noticed it until he started doing it to me!  Wyatt likes to put his hand on your shoulder or pat your leg.  Both boys are amazing huggers.  Gavin now comes up to me from behind and hugs on my neck... melt my heart.  He just hangs there and rests his head on mine!  Wyatt loves to sit on my lap all throughout the day.  He calls it 'lalap' (many words or doubled in some form... dog-gog, la-Luke, car car, etc...).  When it comes to their brother Luke, these boys are AMAZING!  Their only fault is they don't know their size or his.  They love to kiss and hug him or pat him.  They love to talk to him.

Gavin and Wyatt have become wonderful at encouraging one another and Luke.  They cheer and high five each other for almost every potty success (which is all the time all day long!) and other great new things they try.  Every day you can hear them cheering Luke on by saying, 'Roll Luke roll!' and now 'Crawl Luke crawl!'  What a beautiful thing watching your boys build each other up!  One of my biggest prayers about their relationship is that they always do this.  That the only competition is the healthy one and that they celebrate each other for who God made them to be and partake in each other's likes.

Gavin and Wyatt do not like for each other to have booboos.  The whole concept of booboos is fascinating to them actually.  So we spend a lot of our kisses kissing new and old (sometimes very old) booboos (and with them... they get a lot of booboos...)  They will randomly kiss their brothers booboo if they happen to see it.  This is rather interesting sometimes... One might be using the potty and the other will see the booboo on his brothers thigh... yeah... you get the picture.  I pulled a muscle or pinched a nerve in my back about a month ago.  Gavin still comes up to me and kisses my booboo even though it has been healed for a long time!  Again, we rejoice in their love and thank God for showing us how to love.

Both boys love to pray at 'formal times' like meals and bed.  They like to repeat certain parts of the prayers these days.  They also love it when we sing our 'good morning songs' that I started when they were newborns.  We say at meals (this will change as they grow, but the repetition is good for them at this age, plus they get in depth prayers all throughout the day) 'Thank You God for our food.  Come Lord Jesus, be our Guest, and let this food to us be blessed.  Amen.'  At bed time we pray, 'Thank You God as this day ends, for our family and our friends.  Taking to sit and pray, thank You God for this great day! Amen' (at that time Gavin is now also adding 'thank you for our food'!)  In the morning we sing, 'Thank you Jesus, thank You Jesus, thank You Jesus for another daaaaayyyyyy!' and 'This is the day, this is the day, this is the day the Lord has made, Let's rejoice!'  Gavin and Wyatt will often start saying their prayers on their own without knowing we are watching before they eat their pretend food they just pretended to cook!  It made me cry the first time I saw Wyatt doing this the other week.  They also will fold their hands and say thank you before eating snacks sometimes.

They love their special Bibles and reading time.  They have their special places for them and know that reading from the Bible is a special book, not like any of their other books.

While all these things are 'outward' actions from Gavin and Wyatt, it is the heart that is really changing. 'Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.' ~Proverbs 4:23~

As wonderful as these growths are, it is their growing love for Jesus that is the most beautiful.  The boys get so excited when they see a new picture of Jesus!  My aunt brought them a new Bible story book and they got so excited when they saw Jesus' picture on the front with little children.  They immediately said, 'Je-Us!' They also love to talk about the cross.  I explain to them we think of Jesus' love for us when we see the cross.  The past couple of weeks, their interest and delight in the connection between the cross and Jesus has grown greatly.  Watching the smile on their faces is amazing.  They are so young and can only comprehend so much.  But I know for sure that God is working in their hearts and doing great things; for the Word never comes back void.

I will write another post about all their birthday celebrations and what other things they are doing and learning these days as the week unfolds.  For now I want to say a special prayer of thanks for our three precious sons.

Dear Lord, thank you beyond words for our precious sons You have entrusted to us.  When I prayed for children all those years ago, I had no idea the precious sons you would bless us with that You already knew and loved beyond our imaginations.  Thank You for allowing me to be their mother.  Thank you for the special way you knit each one in my womb.  Thank you for helping me grow by being their mother.  As always, Lord, please help me to teach them to know You, love You, and serve You, that You may be glorified.  Help me to raise each son into the man You created them to be; encouraging them in their strengths and weaknesses; learning their passions You gave them.  Help me to teach them about this amazing world you created for us; to enjoy it, take care of it but to never become of it.  Please continue to help us learn to love You first and put You in the center of our everyness.  Please help me learn to guild our sons and discipline and instruct them using your Word and truths.  These things and so much more, I pray in Jesus' precious name, Amen.