Then and Now

Locke-buddy has come such a long way. It has been an exhausting year child training wise, but the flowers have bloomed and the fruit is growing! Instead of heading into the terrible twos, we are enjoying the wonderful Ones. :) A few weeks ago I started to notice some really huge changes in our little guy and once I thought back to how it used to be, I am truly thankful and amazed.
__________________________________________________
Then: He would sit up screaming in his crib impatiently demanding we pick him up YESTERDAY!

Now: He wakes up quietly and sings or talks to himself. And if we take a long time, he just says, "mamaaaa...." or "dadaaaaaa...."
__________________________________________________
Then: He forgot he was the 4th child and acted like he was an only child when it was time to wait for a meal in his chair.

Now: He wait quietly like everyone else. And if it seems to take exceptionally long, he simply reminds me with a "mmmm!" or a "num, num!" in case I had forgotten, which does occasionally happen...
__________________________________________________
Then: He would spit his food out when he didn't like something (with great force I might add)

Now: He eats most of what we give him (with a spoon or fork!)
__________________________________________________
Then: He would spit up incessantly all hours of the day, no rhyme or reason.

Now: He only spits up every few months (usually after Cliff has thrown him in the air or onto the couch, which is currently his favorite activity).
__________________________________________________
Then: He didn't like going into the nursery at church.

Now: He walks right in and enjoys playing with everyone. I frequently get good reports from the people working in there how fun and sweet he was!
__________________________________________________
Then: At the grocery store in the shopping cart he would scream in terror if I stepped 10 feet away to get something into a bag.

Now: He flirts with all the customers, waving and saying "hi!"
__________________________________________________
Then: In the car he would scream if I unbuckled Cambria or pulled in the trash cans without getting him out first.

Now: He waits patiently :)
__________________________________________________
Then: He often just didn't look like he was having much fun.

Now: He is a total goofball. He runs around the house with a huge smile on his face, jabbering away while playing with toys and putting things over his head purposefully crashing into things because he knows he's funny :) The kids all think he's hilarious! So do we.
__________________________________________________
Then: He didn't like to hug.

Now: He'll hug voluntarily (all of us) throughout the day.
__________________________________________________
Then: He was very cranky

Now: He has a very sweet, although still somewhat intense, disposition.

Then: I still didn't feel like we had bonded much. That we were stuck with an endless babysitting job.

Now: We love each other so much! He is my son and I wouldn't trade him for anyone!
__________________________________________________
Then: I frequently felt discouraged, confused and hopeless, wondering if this had really been God's plan after all.

Now: I praise the One who changes hearts, attitudes, and wills (Lochlan's and mine) and I'm actually thankful for the exhausting trial that first year and a half was. All the hard work (and I realize it's not done) has been worth it. We have a little boy who will one day do amazing things I'm sure. I'm thankful to have been given the chance to be apart of training him up. We all love him so much!

Here are some of the verses that helped us and are continuing to help us as we seek to parent these precious little ones in the Lord:

Galatians 6:9 Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Hebrews 12:7 - Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons...

Hebrews 12:11 - No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Proverbs 22:6 - Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Lord, Thank you for this instruction manual for life and peace!

With His help we went from ambivalence, annoyance, unhappiness, and impatience then:

to joy, happiness, fun, silliness, playfulness, and sweetness now!