Growing in Faith

Three year and two days ago Elijah prayed to accept Jesus as his Savior.  He had been asking good questions and actually prayed, unprompted, while showering.

Yesterday, Elijah proclaimed his faith to a small bunch of friends in Spearfish.  Chris baptized him in the Spearfish Creek.  It was shockingly cold from all of the rain but so meaningful.  In fact, God cleared the weather just long enough for us to baptize him.  Literally, it was down pouring moments before and it was down pouring just after we got back in the car.

Being baptized at camp will be a great memory for years to come.  We did it in a little pool right over the foot bridge we have to walk across to get to Team Meetings and Pep Talks.  Elijah has been attending camp for 7 years at it is a highlight of our year.

A Matched Set

People are forever commenting on how the Anderson boys are a matched set.  Sometimes I see it.  Like in the picture below, it could be Daniel instead of Elijah.  Sometimes I don't.  John stands out because he has darling blue eyes.

Elijah could be Daniel in this one.  Aren't they just so sweet?

John at 5 months

Micah just hit the 6 month mark of life so off we went to the doctor.  I knew Micah was a big boy, just lift him and you can tell he is, let's say, solid.  I could not, however, remember how big the other boys were so I dug through the closet to find out how they stacked up.

They truly are a matched set.  Solid would describe them all.  All four were at or around 19 pounds.  Most were about 27 inches long.  John was the exception here.  I could not figure out why my memory of him did not contain rolls on his thighs.  Well, it's because he was 29 inches long at 6 months.

Daniel at 6 months, the mischievousness is already in that smile.

And while they are a matched set on the outside, this week has again shown me how miraculously created they all are on the inside.  John is my procrastinator, let me charm my way out of it man.  Elijah is my leader, let's get it done man.  Daniel is my two year old who entered the terribles this week.  Micah is my people person.

Teachers have told us they would request or love to have John after having Elijah but you don't get another Elijah with John.  You get a John, who loves God and works to reconcile his desires to do the right thing with his desire to entertain.  He told me the other day that he prayed that God would help so picking weeds would go faster and it did.  And I am certain Daniel and Micah will be different too. Daniel shows a tendency for learning quickly and a tendency to try to get a laugh out of the crowd.

Micah at nearly 5 months

So, they may all look alike but the only matched set I am hoping for is a set of hearts that follow the Lord all their days.









Here are a couple of other pictures I couldn't resist.  

Baby John.  Oh, that hair.  How I loved that hair.

Matching jammies from Mrs. Jill.  John could be Micah in this one.

Interview with a Birthday Boy

Friday my blue-eyed darling turned 6.  The two days prior he spent on the couch barfing his little guts out but Friday he was back (mostly).  I remember the day he came into the world as if it were yesterday.  Chris and I were late getting to our scheduled c-section and the nurses were a little annoyed with us.  It was the calmest birth in my history of birthing.  The worst part was the shot to numb me up.  John came into the world the smallest of my babies with a head full of dark, dark black hair and gorgeous blue eyes.  He was a serious baby who laughed little.

Now he is a fun loving boy who laughs at even the dumbest of jokes.  I interviewed him to commemorate moving up from one hand to two hands old.

1.  What do you want to be when you grow up?    Veterinarian

2.  Favorite food: Mint ice cream and French toast (really anything with syrup)

3.  Favorite color: Gold

4.  Least favorite food: CHICKEN!

5.  Favorite Bible Verse: John 3:16

6.  What is the best thing to do in your spare time?  Play outside and ride my new bike

7.  Will you ever get married? NO

8.  Where do you want to live?  San Diego because it is warm.

9.  What is your favorite sport to play? Football, I want to play for the Cougars (USF, yikes I better start saving)

10. I wish I had a _________.  Tape gun so I could tape people to the wall

Chris got John a "present" he was less than thrilled about.  Sardines.

He outgrew is old bike so he got a new one for his present.

Happy birthday donut, an Anderson tradition!

Filling the Silence

"Too skinny. Too small. Sinker not swimmer. The horn on the bus goes beep beep beep."

Sitting in the reading nook, Daniel's sweet voice carries through the house.  The boy talks or sings all day long.  He was an early talker, like his biggest brother, Elijah.  He really started talking All. Day. Long. once the biggest and bigger brothers started school in August.  Suddenly, there were no other voices to overshadow his and he takes full advantage of that fact All. Day. Long.  Often he takes people by surprise because they don't expect a toddler to answer their, "How are you?"  with an actual answer.

Around March he began the question phase of his life.  While John preferred to ask why, Daniel prefers to ask "What is that?"  This is an all encompassing question used to determine both objects and people.  It also comes in handy in the grocery store.  There are a million ways to answer this without offending any one person who is being pointing at.  Elijah preferred "Who is that?" and it usually got us wrapped into a conversation with a stranger who had to comment on my petite talker. 

Not that we get out of those conversations.  Daniel was loudly proclaiming the gospel from the grocery cart a few weeks back when a dear, sweet older lady stopped me.  "He sure has volume doesn't he?" She said, very quietly.  I agreed and tried to shush my Jesus loves me singer.  "Oh, never try to squash his voice, dear,"  she continued. "People have told me to speak up my whole life.  You let that voice be loud." 

Or there was the week when Daniel was scolding his brother John with the exact words I had used just moments prior.  The older gentleman getting pizza next to me could barely contain this chuckle.  It is quite something to hear a toddler saying, "John, you keep your hands on the cart we'll talk about letting you have a sucker when we are done."

Daniel's second favorite question is "What?"  He uses this to make you think he didn't hear you, thus getting you to repeat what you said four times before finally giving up.  I am pretty certain he got it the first time but finds his amusement in controlling the adults in his life.  This little man of mine is dangerous. 

I cannot think of a more joyful way to fill the silence of the day than with Daniel's sweet voice as he talks to his animals, reads books, sings wonderful mash-ups of songs, and questions my every move.

Dear John

 

 

Dear John,   You made it!  You have successfully finished your Kindergarten year.  It was fun (mostly) and a little bit hard too, uh?  I am so proud of you.  This year I saw you learn how to let others go first.  You learned how to read and discovered that words are everywhere!  You learned that some times people are not nice but that we can love them anyways.  You fell in love with Mrs. Otten and declared her the best teacher ever.  I am so proud of you!  (I think I already said that.)

You are growing up so quickly and I love the personality God gave you.  You have such a heart for people and care about them.  I also saw a very sensitive side to you this year.  What other's say is not always kind and you learned the power of words first hand.  I pray you carry that lesson with you always.

You never cease to amaze me, buddy!  You finished your whole AWANA book and reviewed it all with minimal help from me.  Keep God's word in your heart and call on during those tough moments. 

Let's have a super fun summer, ok?  Lots of playing and getting dirty and giggling.  I have missed having you at home with me and can't wait for the house to be full of boys again.

Thanks for all the joyful moments!
Love you most!
Mom