Saturday

Can I just start this post by saying how much I love you all!! I know so many of you visit here regularly and comment or email. Many visit and laugh, cry and pray right along with us. Some visit to catch up occasionally, reading several posts in a row. And dare I hope that a tiny few wait on the edge of their seat for my next great revelation on kids, marriage, life and WIC! Ok, I'm probably stretching it there but I love you all!! Many of you belong to a little club of special families. Many are family and friends from real life. Some are friends of friends. But you all celebrate right along with our family each time you read a post or comment! Thank you for being here!

This morning there was a little celebration over on Facebook! You see, I posted this picture of Asa that we took this morning!




Pardon the large scale of the picture I'm still trying to figure out how to get the picture from my phone onto the blog! BUT, our hearts were about as huge this morning! I got Asa down from his highchair and was walking him to the living room. I was holding under his arms and he was stepping. When he got to this chair, he turned and put one foot right on the bottom support rail! Then I helped him step up and he stepped the other foot onto the seat!!! He tried to climb into a chair!! He stood holding onto the back of the chair for 10-15 minutes. He'd take little feet shuffles and let go with one hand and try to shake the back of the chair. He had more energy than I have ever seen. Usually he props on something or grips so hard and grunts, refusing to move. But not this morning, he was BUSY! Anna has it on video on my phone but since I have trouble with the picture, you know I don't have the video up! I'm telling you, our whole house stopped and we just watched and laughed right with Asa! He got very tired and I helped him down and he went right back up, so determined! He finally compromised for sitting in the chair at the table!

And yesterday, Gracie, Anna, Asa and I went shopping. We all went into a big dressing room. Gracie was busy with my phone and Asa was in his chair...for a while! Soon he got tired and bored and was fussing. I sat him in the floor and he happily played with the wheels of his chair...for a while. Soon he scooted around the chair and to the door. There was a 12"-18" opening from the floor to the door and Asa leaned over and peered out. He took a few scoots forward and looked again. Then he tucked his head under the door and used it to help scoot himself out from under the door!!! Anna and I were done changing and had just been hanging the clothes up when he started this. We both cracked up!! I quickly rescued Asa, although he cried like I was kidnapping him! This whole scene created an education moment with the lady in charge of the dressing rooms. Turns out her grandson is having some development issues so we chatted. Anna says I can talk to a tree! Asa was none to happy about getting back into his seat after his jail break though!



We got the van ready for our trip next week. Barry worked on the wipers while Anna and I cleaned it out and I vacuumed. Barry was disgusted by the amount of stuff that came out of the van but I LOVE my van! I can't imagine anything else holding all of our stuff! Well, look for yourselves:



Shocking?! There are some blanket in there that we probably won't need for ball games anymore but all of the rest is in the van everyday! And that doesn't include Cade's ball bag and another bag chair! I can't even imagine trying to trade vehicles. When I was shopping for just the right diaper bag I'd take everything out of the old one and put it in the trial one! Can't you see me unload and reload in a car dealership! LOL!

We got this van right before we had Asa. We had a cute, sportier black van with a DVD player but no rear air. Once we got a carrier for Asa, I tried to put it in the van and it wouldn't fit. No worries, I had another carrier and I tried that. It didn't fit. We tried both middle seats and had to have the front seats completely forward and sitting straight up and even then the car seat was wedged in. It was the weirdest thing. We had put a carrier in a 2 door car. We'd had one in another Dodge minivan. We'd have one in a Mercury minivan. I had never had a carrier not fit in a van! I tried several carriers, some I bought and returned and some hand me downs. I was at a loss. So one day I went van shopping. I know, crazy thought since they are only in a carrier for a short time but it was impossible to drive with the steering wheel in you belly, and not safe! So I find this used van, long wheel base, with rear heating and air but no DVD. I bought it that day. Looking back now there is NO way we could have fit into that cute black van now. Asa stayed in a carrier until he was 15 months old and was rear facing until nearly 2. No way Asa's chair would go in. No way I could climb all over it to take care of business with Asa. And there is certainly no way he could have survived without the rear air!

I was wondering today if it wasn't all in God's divine planning for that van to absolutely NOT work from before Asa was born. Man, isn't God great in His perfect wisdom!! Why is it so hard for us to just follow along?!