eleven months, eleven things

1. Has four teeth on top, two teeth on bottom.

2. Saying lots of words: baba (bottle), ba (bye), hi, Izzy, Mama, Dada, GiGi (not sure what that means)

3. Loves to dance and will boo up and down while he's sitting or standing

4. Favorite game is peek-a-boo

5. New love of swimming

6. Is a little foodie! Fresh fruit and veggies are preferred over canned or frozen. And, don't try to pull one over on him cause it ain't happenin'!

7. Waves like Ms. America...only cute for awhile little one.

8. Will soon be a millionaire. Grandma W gives him a dollar everytime she calls him dollboy (her fav nickname)...

9. Cab give the sweetest kisses and the most violent kisses...it's up to you of you want to chance it! I certainly do.

10. Has no idea how big he's getting.

11. Close to walking. Has a little push walker and has mastered it. Jason thinks it'll be a while but Mama thinks it'll be sooner!

my life at a PRTF

So, I work in a PRTF. For those of you unaware, PRTF stands for Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility. This isn't summer camp, people. This is for youth with serious mental and behavioral problems. There is nothing I dislike about my job. Ok, ok, the paperwork is NOT fun, but the reward is much better than the notsofun stuff. Today, a teen left us. He had been at this placement for nine months. That's six months longer than most kids stay. He had serious problems, of which I will not divulge for many reasons (confidentiality being the biggest reason). Today we celebrated his success. He is now a kid who understands where his problems lie, where they stem from, how they could hold him back, and what he needs to do to take control of his life. Not only that, he can VERBALIZE it!! This morning, just hours before he left, he accepted Christ. On campus, there is a chapel and a pastor who has chapel service on a weekly basis. A lot of the kids go just to get out of the cottage. This kid started opening his ears to the Word and started to change...coincidence??...I THINK NOT!! I did not know of his salvation until he was driving away when my co-worker said, "He was saved this morning and read the sinner's prayer outloud...twice." I lost it. I had held it together pretty well until then. Many people ask, "How can you work with THOSE kids?", "Don't you get afraid that they will hurt you (cause they do hurt people at times...badly)?", "Couldn't you get more money somewhere else?"...THOSE kids are MY kids...wouldn't trade them for the world. God, thank you so much for these kids and the change they are making in MY life. Thank you for bringing me to this place of hurt and giving me an opportunity to learn from THEM. Most days I feel like I shouldn't get paid to do this work. It is more of a blessing than I ever imagined and can't wait to see what happens next.

something worth fighting for

This morning, Will woke up at 4:30, ready to start the day. I love watching him in the mornings and learn a LOT from all the little things he does. For instance, he was determined to climb to the window and look outside. I, however, was motivated for him to go back to sleep so, as he crawled, I grabbed his sweet little waist and pulled him back into my arms. And the fight continued. Climb-grab-pull, climb-grab-pull, climb-grab-pull. It continued for a short while until, you guessed it, he won. As he laid his chin on the pillow and just stared outside, I was reminded of God's love for me and His fight for me. As much as I pull away from Him at times, He lovingly grabs me around my not-so-sweet and not-so-little waist and pulls me back into His arms. I fight it at times but, in the end, I know He is there for me, fighting for me. "The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." Exodus 14:14. What a wonderful reminder.