My Sweet Boy

Wyatt has always been both a challenge to me and a joy in my life. He has so much energy and can't seem to sit still for long at all. He's been on the go since he started walking at 10 months old! He has always been able to find a way to get into trouble; we have often said that trouble just seems to find him. He can't resist it. It's been a constant struggle for us.

Recently, however, he is starting to mature and outgrow some of that. He just turned 4 and we are finally seeing more about who he really is. He's showing his personality and his heart more and more with each passing month. One thing that we have noticed about him is that he is very sweet and tenderhearted. He will always get up to turn a light on for Makenna or stop eating dinner to walk all the way around the table to get Ayda's fork if she drops it. He takes a lot from Ayda, who has recently started biting (usually only him), and he never retaliates. Of course, it doesn't help us deal with Ayda when he ALWAYS gives into her, but it shows what a sweet heart he has.

The greatest trait that we have noticed in him recently, however, is his love for God. Even through all the squirming in chairs through Sunday School, he has been listening. He knows his bible better than most kids twice his age. There are many times he says something to me and adds to the end of the statement, "because that's what the bible says." Now, keeping in mind that he's 4, he sometimes uses that phrase with things that have nearly nothing to do with the bible. He'll say things like, "We need to wear a seat belt because the bible says so," or "Always wear an undershirt because that's what it says in the bible." We will never correct him, though, since he's obviously learned the important lesson--that we live by the standards of the bible.

Wyatt also always wants to pray. In fact, it can cause quite the argument between him and Makenna over who gets to pray at that meal. Lately, he has combined his "prayer life" and his nurturing of Ayda. He is like a protective mother to her at bedtime. He says very quietly and sweetly, "Come on, Ayda. Get your baby and get into bed. I'll cover you up." Here he is just a couple of nights ago putting her to bed. Keep in mind that the room was completely dark, I just had my camera on night time mode so we could see.

Then, after her gets her tucked in, he gets on his knees, puts his head on her bed, and prays for her:

I think that is the most priceless picture. It is one of my very favorites.

Wyatt is just a loving little boy. He has such a tender heart and a love for God. I pray that he stays faithful to God, and I can't wait to see what God has planned for his life!

Our St. Louis Trip

We recently took a mini-vacation to St. Louis, MO. In light of the previous post about being cheap, I thought I would share how we did this on a budget. My mom and grandma were going to visit family in Dallas, TX. Their flight was out of St. Louis, so they needed a ride there. So, the gas was paid by them. When we got there, we were planning on going to the zoo. We had packed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and capri sun drinks and ate a quick (cheap) lunch in the van just outside the zoo.

We knew ahead of time that parking was going to be $11 and were prepared to pay it. We found out, though, that if you are willing to walk a couple of blocks, you can park for free. Want to try to guess what we did? :) Here we are a couple of blocks from the zoo....ready to go!

We found a cheap hotel that was still nice enough that I felt comfortable staying in it for that night. I made sure the hotel had an indoor pool so we could swim for--you guessed it--free! A few weeks ago, my husband and I had become fans of TGIFridays on Facebook, and in return we each received a free hamburger/fries. So, that night, we went there to eat and only had to buy food for the kids. We all 5 ate for under $15. Doesn't get much better than that!

The next day, we went shopping at the St. Louis Mills mall. It was huge. Granted, the kids don't like to shop a whole lot, but they loved looking in the toy shops. They even got to sit at Old Navy and color Halloween pictures while Mommy shopped. We found a great play area in the center of the mall, too, and the kids had a lot of fun playing there.

After that, we went to the St. Louis Science Center. It is free to get in there too, but parking is $8. Leave it to us, though, to find a way to avoid that cost. We found on the street parking just about 2 blocks away and parked for free. While the kids weren't old enough to understand all that they were doing, they had fun playing! Here are all 3 of them trying to figure out a game:

And here is Wyatt just moments before he pushed "Start" and had his arm squeezed. He then proceeded to panic thinking he was going to have to leave his arm behind in the machine!

And, finally, the only thing we didn't have time to do was to visit the arch. Not to worry, though. They made their own arch with some help from Mom and Dad!

It was such a weekend of fun and "freeness" (I just made up that word). We really had a great time, though, and look forward to going back to St. Louis. There is a lot to do for free there! It makes for a great weekend getaway.