Growing Up

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. When Brady turned one I knew I wanted to do something different for his First birthday. I wanted his birthday to celebrate something much more. Since Brady is the younger brother there was really nothing he even needed. My point of his party was to celebrate that we had a healthy baby boy & that I wanted everyone together. I think this is something so many of us forget about birthdays. Its not about the party, the gifts, or the cake. Its simply another year we are blessed with. I asked everyone instead of bringing gifts if they wanted to bring a donation to Rileys Childrens Hospital. The last couple years I have seen such tragedies happen to families and it reminds me daily how truly we take our very own health for granted. I wanted us to celebrate that we have a beautiful healthy boy and in his honor we should help other babies have the opportunity of health. Not everyone was for the idea and that was ok. Whatever was in everyone's heart was fine by me. We were able to give a donation and my heart was so full. I have to be honest the main person I wanted to touch with this whole thing was our older son. Braxton has been the only child for so long and lets be honest he is very spoiled. I wanted him to see that birthdays weren't about presents, they were about the simple fact that we get to celebrate years with each other. Sometimes I do things and I just pray that they open someone else's heart. This whole giving a donation turned out to be everything I wanted. Not only did we give hope to other families, but it opened up my 6 year old's heart even more. When we were preparing for his 6 birthday he asked me if instead of presents people could give a donation instead. First of all for a 6 year old to give up presents for himself to help others is pretty astonishing and I was truly moved by him. After I explained to him that as much as I loved the idea I think it was best if we took that step within ourselves. Meaning that Braxton was allowed to give his own money to his own organization. If you know Braxton you know his love for animals runs so deep so when he said he wanted to help endangered animals I was not surprised in the littlest bit. At first I thought this was a great idea, but I wanted Braxton to see first hand what his donation would do. I wanted him to be able to walk into a place of need and see exactly what animals he would be helping. We decided to take Braxton's money and walk into the humane society. It was a pretty amazing experience, but one that weighed so deep on my heart. As many of you know we used to have a lab named Maize. However, when Brady was born Maize had some major issues with him. Truly it wasn't all his fault because he was a baby himself. But after catching Maize in mid air about to pounce my baby and then another night Maize trying to chew through Brady's wallaby (which honestly could have tremendously hurt Brady)I realized it wasn't a safe fit. Braxton NEVER once has made me feel bad about our decision to find Maize a new home, but trust me I feel enough guilt without him even saying one word. As I looked at one animal that reminded me so much of Maize I lost it in the humane shelter. As much as Maize was brought into our life for Braxton he was my baby. I kept thinking in my head what in the world was I thinking? This was suppose to be about helping and I'm bawling because I miss our dog? Braxton grabbed my hand and said, "Mom its ok I miss Maize too, but he's in a happy home look at all these animals that don't have a home." Dear God how does this child do it? He is always teaching me I swear. The big thing I walked away with this day was that kids really are paying attention and if you don't think what you do matters you are going to have a rude awakening one day. Your choices, actions, and words matter. I am no where near a perfect parent. There are days my patience is at an all time low and I feel like I am constantly yelling. However, days like today really make me realize the importance of Proverbs22:6. Its my job to teach my children the Jesus way and look when they need to use it they really do. Braxton was there to help others that day including his Momma. He walked away with a full heart of how much better it feels to help others instead of yourself. I am a proud mother & thankful for a God that lets me know I can do this whole parenting thing as long as I allow him to lead the way. Now within a week my 6 year old is off into the world of school. I cannot tell you how many times I have cried about this very matter. Just today I was looking at a picture of a friend's child getting on the bus and lost it. For the first time in my life I am no longer in control of Braxton. For atleast 6 hours 5 days a week he is on his own with a teacher. Braxton is beyond ready for this journey and as much as I hate it I also know its time for him to spread his wings and fly. I will just keep praying and that I am giving him enough so he can spread that love to others and not change who he is:).