6 Years Old!

6 years old!

 

5 years old

(4 year blue chair picture ???)

3 years old

2 1/2 years old

2 years old

18 months old

1 year old

11 months old

10 months old

9 months old

 8 months old

7 months old

6 months old

5 months old

4 months old

3 months old

2 months old

1 month old

2 weeks old

Dear Josiah,

Happy 6 years, my big fellow! 

This is a most remarkable and unusual time. We are in the midst of a "shelter at home" order as a certain virus (COVID-19) touches lives and affects nations around the entire globe. Our birthday party plans are paused for a later time, when we can again gather with folks who don't live in our house, but we are still thrilled and grateful to celebrate 6 years of life that God has given you in our family!

Your smile continues to be such a bright, beautiful gift! Yesterday, you and all your brothers were laughing and laughing about Victor's little mix-up... Everyone was coming in for supper, and he ran inside first. He waited at the door, ready to swing it open and holler "Happy Birthday!" when you entered next. But, unbeknownst to him, Elliot took the lead, and when he opened the door with his birthday greeting, it wasn't you! But you fully appreciated the hilarity!

You are a strong, physical boy. You love to run on all fours, jump on the trampoline, bounce, roll, wrestle, and skip. You are quite a bike-rider, sometimes with training wheels but sometimes without!

Animals are your favorite part of God's creation. All you boys love watching Wild Kratts, but you also read many animals books intently, and you have an ever-growing cache of knowledge about many intricate details of the animal kingdom. You also love pretending to be animals (or imaginary combinations of animals), complete with very authentic animal noises.

You are growing in your ability to faithfully work on a hard project. Whether it is reading lessons in school, helping to clean the family room, or doing laundry, I love to see you taking God's help to persevere and overcome a challenge. May the Lord continue to give you courage and endurance to do what He gives you to do!

Although you are sometimes quiet and enjoy doing things on your own, you are also a good and kind friend. I notice that God has helped you be sensitive to what other people like to do, generous with toys or ideas, and gentle with those who are smaller than you. Those are wonderful qualities like Jesus!

You have a thoughtful mind and often put together thoughts and ideas from sermons at church or Bible stories. Normally each morning you and Victor will sit with Daddy on the couch, reading your own Bible story books while he reads his Bible. I pray that you continue a pattern of seeking God in the Word and in prayer each day of your life!

In our new homeschool co-op at CC, I've gotten to be the tutor in your class, and I love to see how you have grown in sharing interesting presentations each week with confidence, exploring different science experiments, and learning tons of other things! Science is one of your favorite subjects, and I pray your inquisitive mind continues to study God's astounding creation to see His handiwork and design in the years ahead.

These strange and challenging days are also giving us more opportunities to pray together, and I love to hear how you are thinking and bringing cares to God in prayer. Always remember that the circumstances of life, from tiny viruses to huge decisions, are utterly in God's hands, and He has a good purpose and design. He has already proved His love for us in the greatest possible way--by giving His own Son Jesus to cover over our sins so that we may be with Him forever! He will not fail to work for good in whatever else He brings into our story.

I am studying in Galatians now, and this verse has been like a defining vision for these days:

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. (Galatians 5:6)

To say that another way, when we trust in Jesus as our only hope for salvation, we are set free from trying to work hard (and always failing) to earn God's approval by what we do. Instead we have a secure identity as sons and heirs in God's family, and our new call is to express our faith in serving others through love. What we could never do on our own strength, God now provides from the inside out, by the gift of the Helper, His Holy Spirit, so that we actually can grow in Christ-likeness and love!

I pray that you find your security always in what Jesus did on your behalf, by dying on the cross for you, and that your great joy is walking in His Spirit and bearing the fruit of love each day.

You are my favorite 6-year-old, and I love you so much!

Momma

Josiah (3.30.20) 6 years old

1.       What is your favorite color? black

2.       What is your favorite toy? My dinosaur that I got from Grammy

3.       What is your favorite fruit? Crunchy apples

4.       What is your favorite video to watch? Wild Kratts

5.       What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Mom’s grilled cheese

6.       What is your favorite thing to wear? My birthday clothes that I got

7.       What is your favorite game? Outfoxed

8.       What is your favorite snack? Popcorn

9.       What is your favorite animal? horse

10.   What is your favorite song? Away in a Manger

11.   What is your favorite verse? Genesis 1:1

12.   What is your favorite book? The new dragon book I got

13.   Who is your best friend? Benaiah

14.   What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play animals

15.   What is your favorite drink? Root beer

16.   What do you like to sleep with at night? Bunny

17.   What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Eggs and bacon

18.   What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Mom’s pizza

19.   What do you want to be when you grow up? An animal scientist

20.   What was one of your favorite things that you did this year? Go to the zoo

21.   Where is your favorite place to go? To the zoo