Budding

There are so many things beginning to surprise me in parenthood. I felt so prepared for the baby stage - having babysat itty bitties since I was about 13 I guess. I owe so many families huge thank you's for the time I got to spend with them and their babies. I was not nervous (so much) or frightened by those little, floppy, fussy babies when they were born into our little family. Everything, for the most part, felt very much they way it was supposed to be.

But now I am heading into uncharted territory. Willful hearts. Feisty attitudes. Oh, the emotions (and honestly, we are talking more about Joseph here with the emotions). You recognize your own sin struggles, previously so neatly tucked away in denial or distraction, as you tenderly try to help your kids navigate the same sins. It's constant. No auto-pilot. They aren't perfect and neither are we and that makes the process a tad messy...and long. But so worth the persistence.

Budding friendships have been another fun, new arena for us. I mean the kind of friend that you run back and forth across the street with. The kind that walks into your house with out knocking. The kind that gives you his old bike, no strings attached because you just learned to ride (on said bike) and now he has a riding buddy. The kind who doesn't dismiss the kid brother and who can always get a smile out of the baby sister. Not all childhood friendships come this easily. The kind where you trust the parents to keep your kid to the same standards you would when they are at their house. The kind that feeds them good stuff for snacks. The kind that doesn't flip out when they spill their drink, twice. We're thankful.
Mean game of UNO.