Here is an update on the development of the little men of the house. Josiah has turned into a young man this summer, tall and lean and coherently verbal. At 3 1/2, he is a lot calmer and sweeter than he was half a year ago. He is very thoughtful with his little brother, who loves to be chased and has to do everything his big brother is doing. I had to teach Josiah to trade with Benjamin rather than snatching toys away, which works well. They're pretty competitive with each other, but it rarely erupts into a fight yet. Mostly just sobbing tears. Josiah loves his trips to the Railway Village, loves seeing "worker men" doing construction and road paving, loves going to the ocean, loves having sleepovers at Papa's house, and loves having play dates with his friends. He has had a couple nightmares of a lion trying to eat him (I think from watching "Madagascar", so I put all of the Disney movies away and we're watching "Thomas" and "Wiggles" movies exclusively now). He has always been more sensitive to noise and other stimulus, so he'll put his hands over his ears and tell people to stop talking if he gets overwhelmed. He is still biting his fingernails (my fault for not being more aggressive about this problem). Josiah loves gifts, and remembers who has given him his toys and clothes (mostly because he asks me all the time, "Who gave me this?"). He also loves to meet other people, and always asks two questions: "What is your name?" and "How old are you?" Josiah probably asks me 10,000 questions every day. I try to appreciate the value of his curiosity and give him accurate answers, but it can be exhausting! Even Benji has caught on to asking "Why?" and I don't think he's even able to comprehend that question yet! Josiah wears his favorite train engineer overalls four or five times a week (I have to beg him to wear something else the other days), paired with his "work boots" (i.e. rain boots).
Benjamin was supposed to be my calm baby, but he's turned into a little livewire! He's always on the go, always getting into mischief. He's got a twinkle in his eye that lets you know he's concocting devious plans in his mind. He is a train fanatic, so obsessed with trains that the first words out of his mouth in the morning are "Choo choo bye bye?". I have to put his "Thomas" movie on first thing in the morning, and he sets right to work playing with his wooden train set. Benji has never talked as much as Josiah did, but he's catching up. People are always impressed with his polite "Thank you" when he is given something. For a few months, he would say "Ding" instead of "Yes". Just recently he's begun to say "Yeah". When we were in NC, he learned to say [Mc]"Donalds", and some of his newest additions to his vocabulary are "fast", "bug", "fly", "don't", and we're trying to teach him to say "I love you." Benji is also an animal lover, particularly dogs. When I ask if he wants to go see Papa and Grandma, he says "Doggies". I don't think the feeling is mutual with Mom's dachshound ladies though. They tolerate him well. Benji has a cute sense of humor and some of the funniest little expressions. He's never been as good a sleeper as Josiah, but he eats twice as much as his brother. And he still has his "smoker voice" that is so comical to hear coming from a little toddler.
Logan flew to NC last night to be with his Aunt Emily and the rest of the family as she is in serious condition with congestive heart failure and pneumonia. Today she is stable and is doing much better, but Logan is glad to be there for the weekend. They nearly lost her yesterday morning. Please pray for her healing, peace and comfort. Logan's flight out of Boston last night was delayed for over 3 hours because Airforce 1 landed, so he didn't get to his parents' home until 3 a.m. today. We have been having bad luck with flying this year!
While Logan is gone, we're all dealing with tropical storm Danny here in Maine. It isn't stormy here yet, but it started raining last night and hasn't stopped. It will probably be pretty windy as we get into the weekend, with heavier downpours. Perhaps this will lead to some roofing jobs for Logan! One way or another, God always provides. :) Great is His faithfulness.
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Speaking at Gordon College
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