Adventures closer to home

When we get too tired to think about leaving the house, we manage to find a lot of fun closer to home.

I am starting to realize, as the Lord changes my heart, that I can't control things and need to surrender much of what I desperately try to control. Some of those things are a perfect home, a clean child, a clean self, a healthy dinner every night, a well-behaved kid....need I go on? Jackson has been put in my life to help me surrender control and there are moments where I can see the joy in it and I am grateful. 

J helped me bake Oatmeal Craisin cookies the other day for a church event. He was pretty great at pouring the oats and flour into the bowl. Baking with him is completely a way that I have to surrender a clean home, a perfect ratio of flour to sugar and quickly-made cookies. Instead, I get to watch my son learn about baking, ingredients and share in what I love to do. 

It rained for a week straight and we were bored to tears with each other and the house! So, at 7am we put a rain jacket on over PJs, and headed right outside in footed jammies. We ran up and down the street, jumped in puddles and splashed to our heart's content. It was soaking wet, dirty and SUPER FUN!!!! I am thankful for a spontaneous moment with my son, doing something that is totally outside of my nature but we really did enjoy God's creation on the wet, dreary day. 

The Mazzio girls have a new play house that J just thinks is the coolest thing ever. It has a real doorbell, flowers and a stove. Plus it's the perfect size for him to reach everything. I imagine that it's frustrating as he gains skills and independence that he can't get to anything in our home. We're trying to make that possible with step stools and a new kid's table, but we're going to have to get creative for some more independence in other rooms of the house.  

He and Ellie shared a hug, or 50, at the church picnic a few weeks ago. It was cold and overcast but great to get outside and fellowship with other people from church who we don't get to see every Sunday. 

JB often eats breakfast on the couch while watching the news either before a morning shift or after a night shift. In either case, J sees it as a chance to eat second breakfast. Maybe that is why his belly remains so large :) 

We like to call this the Great Puzzle Challenge

Finally, J is quite the avid gardener now and loves to water his tomatoes, our lettuce and the front yard in general (which is currently struggling to turn green...don't judge us!)