Selfish vs. Sacrifice.

I've mentioned before how caught off guard I have been about what it takes to run a household with two kids. Maybe it's Pinterest or Facebook or any of the other multitude of blogs/ websites of really amazing moms/wives/women who seem to be running their households in some pretty amazing ways. Not only do they seem to be organized and creative, their homes are clean with homemade cleaners and their dinners are delicious and well balanced every night. Most of these women are completely honest about their stuggles as well, but it's still intimidating. It still makes me feel like I'm always trying to catch up, to keep up I suppose.

What I have realized is that I need a new way of thinking about my household and my days. My perspective is often focused on keeping up, trying to get ahead (yeah right!), and just make it through this time of exhausted craziness. However, that way of thinking leaves me feeling behind all the time. My perspective needs to be - this is life now. These are my days. Life is about cleaning and playing and cooking and more playing and teaching/molding and loving and shopping and saving and projects and all the rest that goes into raising two little boys and living as a family of four and well, being an adult. Life isn't happening outside of these things, it IS these things.

I need to let go of that selfish part of my past life that I am subconsciously clinging to. The past life where I could sleep in and watch 4 episodes of my favorite show and have ice cream for dinner. The thing is, I miss those things, I miss that part of my past life. I miss the feeling of a day full of nothing to do and no responsibility, the carefreeness of being able to do whatever I want to do whenever I want to do it.

It's been over 3 years now that I've been a mom and I still feel the tug-of-war inside me, selfish vs. sacrificial. Does that feeling ever go away? How can I feel at the very same time that I just want to do what I want to do and yet get up hour after hour throughout night after night to rock and snuggle and comfort my little guy? These seem to be polar opposite feelings and yet they both reside inside me.

The choice to live sacrificially is one that is made day after day, hour after hour. This make Jesus' sacrifice for us all that more amazing. He didn't just make the choice once, he made it day after day, heartbreaking hour after hour and he continues to make it to this day. I exhaust Him, I'm sure. My sin and pettiness and selfishness wear on His heart because He knows I am more than that. I am more than my weakest moments, and it is He who carries me through. It is He who has over these last 3 years kept me going when I was exhausted. It is He who wrapped His arms around me and my boy both as we rocked and snuggled in the dark nights. It is He who gets me out of bed with each cry heard from the other room. It is He, He who has given me every good thing, who creates good things out of struggles, who makes strength out of weakness.

It is because of Him that I am a mom, and even more His doing when I do it well. May I focus on you, Jesus, in the midst of exhaustion, trusting you to transform my selfishness into sacrifice.

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Kelli Bagby

You make beautiful things

"You make beautiful things...You make beautiful things out of dust.
You make beautiful things...You make beautiful things out of us.
You make things new...you are making me new."

We sing this song at Evergreen and I love it. It gives me hope, it speaks of redemption, it reminds me of what God does with our lives, regardless of how ugly they might look at the moment, He makes them beautiful.

He's given us 2 little boys who are more beautiful than I ever could have imagined or created myself. Feeling thankful for God's beauty in my life this morning.

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Kelli Bagby

A rich relationship

There are so many things about being a mom that have been completely unexpected - the extent of exhaustion; the influence that gas has on their tiny tummies and big moods; the long, long road of teething; sleep training; the ungodly length of time I can stare at a sleeping baby....just to name a few.

But the one that I am feeling more and more is the rich relationship that I have with my sons. (I will talk mostly of Gram because I have had more time with him, but I am beginning to see a similar relationship with my O-bear.) My relationship with Gram is so much richer than I had anticipated. His affections for me and need for Mama's comfort is so beautiful and, honestly, a great reward for all the sleepless nights and long days spent loving and guiding him along.

I can see this richness as he grows and is able to express himself more, as he talks about what he sees around him, as he plays out his experiences. I see this little man who is deeply connected to me. My son wants to share everything with me. He wants me with him when he's hurt and when he's having fun, he wants me to provide when he's hungry or bored, he wants me to laugh with and cry with, he wants me..regardless of his mood or his day or if we've been together all day long, he wants me near him.

Gram loves spending time with others. He's an incredibly social kid and wants to practically burst with excitement when we have people over to the house. (It's funny to have people to the house who have only seen Gram in public, he's like a crazy man at home instead of the reserved, well-behaved kid they normally see.) I digress....Gram loves people, he loves when people play with him. He wants you to come into his room and play trains or trucks or whatever. And he has lots of great people to play with. He loves to play with his Dad and his grandparents. It's so, so precious to see him play with others. But he also loves to play with me. And I, in return, love to play with him. We love to play together and it makes life fun. It's fun to have someone want to be with you, someone who genuinely enjoys your company, a person who you bring so much joy to.

I'm thankful, thankful for Gram and Owen and however many days we get to play together. I'm thankful that even though Dad is super, super fun, they still think I am pretty amazingly fun as well. I'm thankful that even if I'm needing a break from my little men, they rarely seem to need a break from me (a lesson of unconditional love for sure!)

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Kelli Bagby

Happy 3rd Bday Gram!

Newborn- full of snuggles but not a lot of sleep, I felt overwhelmed by everything- overwhelmed by the responsibility of this new little man in my life, but mostly overwhelmed that each day spent with you made me love you more and more.

1 year old- still full of snuggles, and so darn cute! It's kind of ridiculous, actually, just how cute you are at this stage. Those dark brown eyes are captivating and your serious face is...one of a kind, my boy.

2 years old - The serious face has become more intense, along with those dark eyes it feels like you are looking into a person, peering deep into them. Yet, you are such a lighthearted little boy, you love to laugh and run and snuggle, you continue to love to snuggle (which your dad and I both appreciate!)

3 years old- your smile is...beautiful and your belly laugh is absolutely contagious. A lot has happened this past year- you became a big brother, you started preschool, we are attempting to potty train you and you are talking so much, you have thoughts and ideas and you are learning how to communicate them. You are smart and funny and extremely strong willed. You are such a fast runner! You can be so darn frustrating at times, you are testing boundaries and telling us "No" and are trying so hard to do things for yourself and figure out your place in the world. Yet, in the midst of frustrating days, you bring me so much joy, my boy. Such deep, deep joy. You make me smile every day. And while I love you more than anything I have ever loved before, you love me entirely. Your love for me and your dad is so pure and so honest and so amazing to feel. Thank you for it.

Right now you are refusing to go to sleep, your talking to your animals and telling them that you need to "go out". Tonight you performed physical exams on our bellies, you've got some good doctoring skills already. You want to take whatever toy Owen is playing with and you've begun to say "No, Owen, No!" quite a bit. However, you are excited for Owen to get bigger so he can run and chase you.

You are full of so much life, my love. I thank God every day that we get to share in your life. You are and will always be mommy's little monkey. I love you Gram.

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Kelli Bagby

Sleep? What's that?

One thought that goes through my head multiple times a day is, "How do parents have more than 2 kids?" And especially, "How the hell do some parents have 5 or 6 or 8 kids?" Cause some people do! Some people choose to have 8 kids! And it is baffling to me. The term "utmost respect" times 1,000 would begin to describe how I feel about said people.

Parenting is hard. Raising little people is ex-haust-ing. (Let me just add in here that I'm ranting a little, ok. I have amazing kids and we are incredibly blessed to have a community that is supportive and family that loves our kids and gives us a regular break to keep our sanity. I definitely see that I have it much easier than a lot of people and I am very thankful for that.) Let me continue...

Ex-haust-ing. I'm physically exhausted from being up at night with Owen. I'm emotionally exhausted from the intense stage of having a 3 year old- giving up the pacifier, potty training, preschool, wanting to do things for himself, testing boundaries, adjusting to a new little brother, etc. Bed time is hard with both of them. We start at 7:30pm and sometimes it's 9:30pm before the house is quiet and we can relax, and often just go to bed at that point.

I find myself feeling the tension of wanting to enjoy this stage with our two boys and longing for the next stage when they are sleeping better and potty training is complete and I can actually get 6-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep!

Longing...that's what I'm feeling quite a bit these days, longing for sleep.

But in the midst of being so, so tired...I get these amazing snuggles every day. I have two boys who are Mama's Boys! I feel their love for me so deeply and completely. That's the thing about babies and kids, they love deeply. They feel so completely, and they express those feelings unashamedly. I appreciate that about them, especially coming from my boys. We are trying hard to create an environment for them where expressing their feelings is encouraged. We want them to know they are allowed to feel whatever they want, there are boundaries with how they can express those feelings, but we want to know how they feel and think and perceive what is going on in their lives.

And it's so amazing to see what their little sponge minds are soaking up. And nerve racking to know everything we do is being copied and memorized. Yikes! And so I strive with little sleep to be patient with a rowdy 3 year old and my never-stopping 7 month old. They keep me going, for sure.

But for now...I sleep.

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Kelli Bagby

6 months

^{Luke 2:51 “}Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. ⁵²And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”

These simple words written a few different times throughout Scripture about Mary mean so much to me these days. Time is passing so fast and yet the days are full and busy and exhausting and often mundane. But at the end of each day, I treasure them. I treasure these days with Gram and Owen and I try each night to remember the day, to talk about it with Dustin and to treasure these moments with my two little boys.

Owen is 6 months old! Where did the time go? His first 6 months went by a lot faster than Gram's first 6 months. My heart longs for a tiny newborn again, so small and new and snuggly. My heart anticipates the future when Owen can run and jump and play with Gram...oh what a sight that will be! Yet in the midst of all the change, my heart treasures the present with my sweet, smiley O-bear. He is just so lovable and full of snuggles and smiles and laughs and overwhelming cuteness. And let's not forget..determination! He is strong and determined to catch up with Gram sooner rather than later. Our pediatrician is totally amazed at how early he was sitting and with what strength and ease he is moving all around (even though he's the size of a 9 month old!) He is truly a delight and such a blessing to our family.

Owen, this is our prayer for you.

owen: desire bred

Owen Klarke Bagby: a life desired

May you desire to follow Jesus, our Savior, and model your life after his all the days of your life.

May you desire to breed in your life love, wisdom, and a truthful heart.

May you desire to lead the world around you in peace, equality and restoration.

May you desire to give generously to others out of all that God has given to you.

May you use your energy to breed friendship, honesty, and service with your family and friends.

May you know every day that your life was and is desired by us and by God.

May God have favor on you and bless your life...a life desired.

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Kelli Bagby

Refresh my soul

"...he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul...." Psalm 23:2-3

I feel like every day I long for a few moments to write down my reflections on life and parenting and following Jesus. The opportunity is here and I'm needing a few moments to even know where to begin. I'm thankful that I feel like I am getting moments throughout my days to reflect, to cherish these times with my two little boys, I just rarely make the time to write them down. I don't want to miss enjoying these special days with little ones. They are full days for sure! At the moment I feel like I will never be able to catch up on everything, there will always be something that is looming over me- at the moment it's a desk that looks like a war zone, but it's often floors that need swept, mopped or vaccumed; laundry that needs done; rooms that need picked up; groceries that need bought; or closets that need cleaned and organized. All work to be done for the running of a household.

I think I greatly underestimated the work that it would take to run a household with kids. And honestly, I marvel at families with more than 2 kids. I have the utmost respect for parents with lots of kids, because my mind just can't comprehend how you do it- how you get quality time with your kids and keep your house liveable. Just with going from 1 kid to 2, I feel like after I do 6 loads of laundry and get caught up, the very next day I have 3 more waiting for me. What?! Really? How is that possible?

Life...it's tricky sometimes. And so is laundry apparently. I'm really trying to find balance in my days. I've been through seasons of, frankly, just trying to make it through my days. But thankfully, I'm in a place now where I get to work on finding balance. I try to regularly lay out my priorities for that time and work towards being productive, having fun with the kids, as well as finding rest and renewal for myself.

It's hard for me to make ME a priority. My natural tendency is to give, give, give. I love to give, I love to serve, I love to love others. It's hard for me to say no to someone. It's hard for me to NOT drop everything for someone who's in need. However, that is changing for a few reasons:

1. I'm a mom now, and quite honestly, I can't give to others like I once could because I'm giving to my children all day long. They are my priority and their nap times take precedence! I don't want my whole life to be about my kids, and that's where finding balance comes in, but right now while they need me so much, they get most of me.

2. I've been on a journey of self discovery for..well, a lifetime, obviously, but more so the last few years. It's come to my attention that I might need to work on some things....weird, huh? =) I've realized I need to evaluate why I want to give to others. I want to give to others to bless them, not to puff up my ego. I want to give for the benefit of others, not so I feel like the greatest person in the world. Like I said, I'm on a journey.

3. If I don't make ME a priority, I will cease to exist and that's not honoring to God, that's not beneficial to me or my family or my friends or my church or the world. God has given me this life in which to serve Him and be ME, and I want to honor that and do the best I can at that. He didn't create me to fade into the background of other people's lives, He created me to live MY life. He created me to know ME, to have a relationship with ME, so I need to be ME. Which means, pursuing the things that I love, making time for things that refresh my soul.

And there it is....this season is about learning how to refresh my soul, how to let God refresh my soul. God is teaching me what that means on a whole new level. My eyes have been opened to my desperate need for that in a whole new way. And I realize when I allow Him to do that I am a whole new person.

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Kelli Bagby

My sweet O-bear

I realize I had taken the time to write down my experience as a new mom with Gram more than I have with Owen. It only makes sense, right? Second child, more to do, less time to sit and reflect and write. What I'm thankful for is I have had the time to reflect, lots of hours of rocking my new little boy, thinking about how amazing he is, how blessed we are to have two beautiful boys, how rewarding it is to be a mom, and how easily swept away I can be in everyone's life around me.

Owen, he is just the best little baby. "A really great second kid", I say. He sleeps well, he eats well, he hardly ever cries, he's just content and happy. He smiles a lot these days, and talks (mostly to his dad!) and loves to snuggle. Oh, the snuggles! He is a sweet, sweet boy. His temperament couldn't have been more different than Gram's at this age. So it will be interesting to see who this new little man will be.

I remember wondering how I could ever love another child like I loved Gram. I'm sure parents with multiple children just smiled at me, knowing how it works- how as another child comes into your life, your heart expands and grows to engulf them both. I realize this now. I'm just as in love with Owen as I am with Gram. Just as protective, just as determined to be a good steward with who God has given us, just as thankful for the incredible blessing of a baby boy.

At the same time, it was pretty obvious from the first moments of Owen's life that we were different parents this time around. We had so much to learn the first time, so much unknown, so much to worry about and figure out. This time I think we felt more comfortable in our parent skin, less skittish, so to speak. More confident in our abilities. Less obsessive. At the same time, Owen hasn't given us as much to obsess about!

Welcome Owen Klarke into the world and into our lives and hearts. You are ours forever and we love you completely.

Read More 1 Comment | Posted by Kelli Bagby

And now there are 2

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." Psalm 139:13

Owen has arrived! And so much has changed all in an instant. Our lives have already been extremely blessed by this little man.

We wondered who he would look like and what he would be like and it is so fun to get to know him day by day. I know as parents we can't "compare" our children. But it is fun to note the similarities and differences between Gram and Owen. It will be interesting to see how these may play out in their lives.

1. Gram was 6 days early and Owen was 6 days late. But they were both born on a Saturday morning.

2. Gram was born c-section after 29 hours of labor. Owen was born al' natural after just 5 hours of labor.

3. Gram fought sleep like his life depended on it. Owen has embraced sleep like his life depended on it.

4. Gram's eyes were wide opened from the moment he was born, as if he wanted to take in the whole world all at once. Owen's eyes are shut most of the time as if he he wants to take in the world small chunks at a time.

5. Gram looked like a Bagby from the get go. Owen resembles my side of the family, the Lashbrooks. And while Gram and Owen look a lot alike, it is really cool to see two families being represented in two new creations, new people that are each their own.

I will never forget the moment that I met each of my boys for the first time. I felt pure joy and awe at the work of God's hands and the miracle of birth and life.

Gram and Owen are more perfect and beautiful than we ever could have planned or imagined. God has blessed us and the world with these two amazing boys. We are thankful they have both been entrusted to us and pray they will be thankful that we are their parents.

Let the new journey begin!

Read More 1 Comment | Posted by Kelli Bagby

Gram-isms

I try to not make all my posts about Gram, but this one is solely about him. So many new quirks and funny things going on with him that I just have to share so I don't forgot this fun stage. And it is quite a fun stage! I had heard horror stories about the terrible twos, but thus far 2 years old has been one of Gram's best stages. And I am trying to cherish every moment.

1. I think I have bragged about Gram before, somewhere?, but let me just say for the record again that he is an AMAZING little boy. He is well behaved, obedient, perceptive, attentive and capable. Personally, this stage for me as a stay at home mom is more difficult. I struggle with feeling guilty about whether I am doing enough with him, whether I am intentional enough with our days, if I am being creative enough to stimulate his learning. But I have been reminded these last few weeks that obviously something is going right because he is a good, good kid. And really, that's what I want, a good kid and not, to be honest, a hellun'. Praise God!

2. Gram's first imaginary friend is a monster. Kind of weird, huh? He doesn't have a name, just monster. Monster hides in his cardboard box house sometimes, or jumps in his bed, or lurks in the laundry room. We tell monster to go away sometimes or run and hide from him. Such a fun and silly and quite unexpected imagination. I never know what monster will be doing next. The other night for homegroup Gram wanted to wear his Batman pajamas. We asked him if monster was around and he said, "No, I'm batman!" Apparently, monster knows to stay away when Batman is around. Too cute!

3. While Dustin or I drive, Gram will often yell "2 hands! 2 hands!". Safety first for him, apparently! We haven't been able to figure out where he got this. He has done it with my parents as well and they are just as clueless. However, what I realized today is that I often tell him to use "2 hands" when I want him to be extra careful, such as dumping out the dust pan (yes, that is one of his chores he helps with), or eating a sandwich or burrito that might fall apart, etc. So, did he put those together in his mind? He wants us to be careful driving so is telling us "2 hands"? If so, my mind is blown. That's pretty smart, right?

4. My brother and sister in law got Gram this "Ok to Wake" froggy alarm clock for Christmas. It's awesome and he is loving it. We set it to turn green at 7:15am so he knows it is ok to get out of bed. We often hear him talking well before 7:15am to his animals and such, just waiting for the green froggy to light up. He then comes running out of his room shouting "green froggy, green froggy!" So excited and so fun to experience each morning.

5.Gram has always been a very cautious and capable little boy. This quality influences my parenting quite a bit, I just don't have to worry about him doing certain things because I know he won't. Therefore, he has freedoms that I might not be able to give our next kid, depending on his temperament. However, Gram is just 2 and so it's hard at times to know how much freedom and trust to put in him. A prime example from today: we were having mom's group at Amy Hyatt's house and the kids were playing in Josie and Janie's room. Gram had been in there for a bit so I went to check on him. I found him on the TOP BUNK of the bunk beds, with only a ladder to get him up there. This is how things went down...
Me: Ugh...Gram, watcha doin' up there?
Gram: (smiling hugely!)
Me: Did you climb up there all by yourself?
Gram: Uh huh.
Me: Ok...are you ready to get down?
Gram: Uh huh.
Me: Do you want me to help you down?
Gram: No.
Me: Have you got down all by yourself before?
Gram: Uh huh.
Me: Ok...can Mommy watch you get down all by yourself?
Gram: Uh huh, (big smile)
I proceed to watch him swing his leg over and climb down the ladder.
Me: Well....(stunned and not knowing what to say)..good job bud, I'm proud of you for doing that all by yourself....you need to be very careful getting up and down, ok? Be very careful.
Gram: (smiling) Uh huh.
He probably climbed up and down atleast 50 times throughout the rest of the morning, totally preoccupied with his new accomplishment. I was stunned at his capability. And while I understand the risk, I couldn't bring myself to squelch his obvious control and pride over the situation. I have learned over the last 2 years that Gram just doesn't do things that he doesn't feel capable of doing. He has proven to us time and time again of his control and understanding of situations. It's pretty remarkable and something I did not expect to see in my kid.

Overall, I feel incredibly blessed by Gram and by the stage that he's in as we are embarking on becoming a family of 4. I know his little brother will change family dynamics and I'm trying to think of lots of ways to empower Gram as an older brother. I couldn't have asked for a better time for Gram to become an older brother, I thank God for his timing and for the 2 beautiful gifts He is giving to us.

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Kelli Bagby

A bit soul-less and blah

Tuesday night, Gram is with Meme and Papa and Dustin is at class. The whole night is mine. Knowing myself, I've committed to sitting at a coffee shop for the duration of the evening, keeping myself away from home which tempts me with mind-numbing TV and housework. No, this time is just for me. Wow, it's been so long. It's hard to not include mind-numbing TV and housework in the things that I want to do when I have free time. Honestly, typically, that is what I do. Either veg out or catch up. Sigh.

Right now I'm feeling a bit soul-less. That sounds so awful, I know, but I'm not for sure how else to describe my insides right now. Life is good, but I'm quite blah. Part of this feeling is coming from feeling VERY pregnant right now. Physically, I'm out of breath, I have heartburn no matter what I eat (including cereal, weird!), I can't sleep because I can't get comfortable and my mind refuses to calm down, my husband has been sleeping in a chair for the last 6 weeks and I miss him in bed. Mostly, this soul-less feeling is from not finding the time or desire to focus on myself, even more to focus on God, to spend time with Him, to let him talk to me, to let myself talk to Him. Why do I do this to myself? I know what the problem is and yet I don't make the time to change it. Well, that's what tonight is all about. Changing my soul. Sigh.

"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:5-8 NIV)

I started a Bible Reading Plan for 2012, today is Jan. 18th and I'm 11 days behind. Ugh. This verse was part of the reading plan and it struck me. It struck me that I feel ineffective and unproductive in my relationship with Jesus, in my relationship with others, in my service to His Kingdom. I hate feeling that way, like I'm wasting my days, like I'm going through the motions for my family but me, personally, is wasting away a bit. I don't want to sound dramatic and as I re-read this, it kind of sounds that way. I'm trying to be honest with myself, I'm trying to take the time to reflect, to understand what's really going on with me. So I can change. So I can stop the cycle, so I can hopefully move away from feeling like this. And this is the first step, sitting here alone in the coffee shop, with no expectations of myself but to write and reflect and move towards Jesus. It feels nice. Deep breath.

I've written out my goals for 2012. 8 goals total, 2 for each of 4 categories: Financial, Personal, Marital, and Parenting. My personal goals are: Write more, spend more quality time with God. They sound pretty simple, but they mean so much to my soul. It's through writing that I do spend quality time with God, so they kind of go hand in hand. Through writing, I find my heart, mind and soul which ultimately leads to God. Simple and specific. Exciting.

I'm looking through my journal, reminding myself of what God has done and is doing in my life. Even though I feel a bit soul-less and blah right now. I know God is working in my life, and this is proof.

Date Unknown: Reflection on Acts 6-8: Because I am a part of God's redemptive community I...

- am learning what it means to truly seek forgiveness and honestly grant it.

- am learning what it means to be transparent with myself and those closest to me and to live an honest life.

- am learning what it means to play my part in loving the community- to do no more and no less than what God calls me to.

- am learning that showing up each Sunday is worth the effort.

- am learning these people that I see week after week are part of my family, I rejoice when they rejoice and mourn when they mourn, and feel the loss when even one leaves.

- am learning that God is powerful enough to redeem even the most seemingly hopeless situations.

- am learning that I need this community as a regular part of my life, they keep me grounded and challenged and loved.

- feel closer to God.

I can say that this past year has been one of the hardest and yet most rewarding years of my life. I anticipate 2012 will be more of the same. Two boys this year! Hard and rewarding, for sure. Dustin leading Evergreen and in school. Hard and rewarding. And...me, what's for me this year. What does 2012 have for Kelli specifically? Not in regards to kids or husband, what can I personally look forward to? What can I pursue? These are the questions I need to answer. Finding these answers will help me not feel as I feel right now a year from now, soul-less, blah and lost.

Read More 1 Comment | Posted by Kelli Bagby

I am so sorry

Learning to say you're sorry can be a hard life lesson. Most adults, myself included, have a hard time saying it in some instances. This week Gram took 2 steps forward in understanding sorry, and my heart could just burst.

1 step:

1. While at the community center this week, he pushed a little girl who was going for the same toy that he was going for. After talking to him and asking him to apologize, which he did, we moved on to other toys. Later that night, we were telling Dustin about all the toys he got to play with at the community center and Dustin asked him about pushing down the little girl. We re-explained that we don't push other kids but that Gram did a really good thing by saying he was sorry to the little girl. We moved on and began to play with other toys. A few minutes later, Gram said, "Push the girl....I am so sorry." WHAT?! My heart melted. His little heart was still thinking about what we had just talked about and he said "so sorry", what little kid says that? Such a sweet boy.

2. I took Gram to his last music class this week, only to find out once we arrived that it was cancelled due to the snow. I said to Gram that I was sorry that class was cancelled and we would go play somewhere else instead. In the car Gram said, "Class cancelled....I am so sorry." And he kept repeating it! He was sorry he didn't get to go to his last class, so sweet.

This age is so amazing, he is like a sponge, just soaking in everything we are teaching him. It's humbling to see him listen, think and respond. I wonder if I am doing as well as that as he is.

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Kelli Bagby

Selfish vs. Sacrifice.

You make beautiful things

A rich relationship

Happy 3rd Bday Gram!

Sleep? What's that?

6 months

Refresh my soul

My sweet O-bear

And now there are 2

Gram-isms

A bit soul-less and blah

I am so sorry

kelli-girl

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