Joe's prayers

Joe plopped himself on my lap the other day and said that he wanted to pray. 

"Ok," I sign. So, I voice the prayers while Joe signs them. 

"Dear Heavenly Father," Joe starts. 

"Thank you for this day. Thank you for my strong body. Please bless the dogs and bears. In name of Jesus, Amen." 

I love his prayers. 

And that he likes to lick garlic off his fork. 

Garlic is near and dear to me, too. 

Lately

Rae starts homeschool tomorrow. I'm nervous. He isn't. 

I wrote Caleb's name on my paper, got up, threw it away, and came back to find that Rae had copied it from memory and added a stick figure with a "1" to show that Caleb is 1 year old. I was astonished. 

We've spent a lot of time at hospitals, therapists, and specialists this summer for Joe. In this picture, Joe is about to get a chest x-ray for pneumonia. After I took the picture Joe tugged on the curtain room divider and signed "Ready, go!" as in, let's blow this popsicle stand, Mom! 

Caleb brings a spunky balance to our family. We are making Friday into Beach Day, and Caleb loves the waves. He likes floating and kicking. He climbs and spins and pushes himself. We've lately only been able to get him to nap by strapping him down in the car and going for a short ride. He really does like to go!