Gabe's Growing Up

Wow, something happens in the 4th (and 5th) years of a little boy's life. Gabe is just changing daily. It's hard to keep up, so I'll blog.

Physically, he's progressing every day. This week alone he learned to pump on the swing AND fasten his own seatbelt. While I was thrilled to not stand behind a swing for half an hour at a pop and to not have to wiggle my way into the backseat of the van (or ask Isaiah or Elly to help), it's a little bittersweet. We got rid of the stroller this week (kept one for baby dolls) since it had been on the garage wall for over a year. He was a bit sad but when he saw the mom with 5 little ones who needed it, he decided it was OK.

Mentally, he's also working hard. He's learned to love starfall.com and pbskids.com. He's quite proficient at the "games"....little does he know he's getting in his "preschool". He's a lover of books. He doesn't mind if he has to "read" them himself, though he will sit for nearly anything you'll read to him (including the books we use for science and history). If it's about a machine...oh, life does not get any better than that. His vocabulary and speech skills have jumped lately. I noticed recently that he can actually tell a story that you can follow now and report details fairly accurately. (His brother and sister are learning that they are not going to get away with some things they thought he wasn't noticing anymore.)

We're discovering "who Gabe is" right now. He's tended toward some character traits but now he's fairly consistent. He love to help. He's right there if we're mowing or planting garden. He trails me when I vacuum and as long as someone is helping, he's good at picking up or folding clothes. He's also fairly focused on others for a 4 year old. Not all the time, but often he's willing to share and will show kindness to Maggie when she needs to play outside or to his sister as they play after "school" or even to his big brother (the toughest of all since there's some teasing that goes on) when they are working on legos. He loves to chat on the phone and he's one of the "gang" outside in the neighborhood making sure everyone has someone to play with and going along with the games the older kids sweetly let him play.

Spiritually, Gabriel has "taken off" and it's thrilling to hear and see. We just came off of Easter and during that time we do our Resurrection Eggs devotions a couple weeks up to Resurrection Sunday. They are plastic eggs with little objects to teach the story of Jesus' death and resurrection. This was the year that I presented the gospel about how there was bad news: that we are sinners and God hates sin...and there is good news: that God sent Jesus to take away our sin once and for all if we just believe him for eternal life. And of his own volition, Gabe was right there, with "I believe that Mama." When asked to articulate what he believes, he can't quite find all the words but he can answer basic questions. I've seen this three times now...how each of my children during this 4th and 5th year come to saving knowledge of Jesus all on their own. The Holy Spirit works in them in amazing ways and those lessons we've been teaching on character start to become their own. What an amazing thing to get to watch and even more amazing to be a small part of.

So if you're praying for us, keep it up. There's something new nearly everyday around here. What an exciting journey we are all on together.