Big Shoes and Winner Announced

A few days ago I walked into the living room to find this...

Brad had left his shoes in the living room and Jack had put them on.  He was just standing there watching tv!  It was really precious, so I snapped a picture.  I know I will blink my eyes and he'll actually be able to fit into these shoes!  In the past several weeks, I've learned something very important about this little angel.  He doesn't like change!  It took me awhile to figure it all out, but I'm so glad I did!  The first major change he had on his little life was when Mallory started Kindergarten in August.  He would cry and beg to stay with her in the mornings.  It just broke my heart!  He would cry "Deedle Dee" and put his arms out for her as we would leave her every day. 

Not long after Mallory started school, our church had promotion Sunday and Jack was promoted into a new Sunday school class.  This was extremely traumatic for him!  I finally had to go and stay with him the entire time so he would be comfortable and not cry.  For 4 weeks, I missed singing in the choir, my own Sunday school class, and attending the worship services.  Something finally clicked and I began to realize that Jack was resisting change.  As I became aware of the problem, it became easier to work towards a solution.  I knew that his behavior wasn't just because he turned two and had hit the "terrible twos".  He was struggling and it was my job to help him.  Little by little, with a calming voice, each day I talked about his Sunday school class,  his friends, and his sweet teachers.  And little by little he began to get accustomed to his new surroundings and each Sunday was less and less stressful.  Each Sunday, I spent less and less time in his classroom.  Finally, today he walked into his classroom all by himself and went straight to play!  He was fine the entire time and didn't even want to leave when I came to pick him up!  Praise the Lord!!!!  I can't tell you how many prayers have been lifted up for Jack and this situation.  I am so thankful for God's blessing today and that Jack had such a great morning!  Now when the next transition happens, if he gets upset, I'll know what the problem is!  :-)

As you can guess, I've been making bows for the past several days.  In fact, I made 24 in two days and have run out of several supplies!  I'm making a quick run to Dallas tomorrow to pick up some more stuff.  Mallory is out of school for a teacher work day, so my mom, the kids, and I are going to have a fun day in Dallas.

I'm sorry it's taken so long to post the WINNER for the Franklin Batting Glove giveaway!  I've been SUPER busy!  As always, I used the random number generator from random.org to pick the winner. 

The lucky number was #15 - Amanda!!! 

I emailed Amanda back on Thursday and she has graciously accepted her prize! 

Congratulations, Amanda!!! 

And, thank you so much to those of you who entered!  I have some more giveaways in the works, so check back often!  HAVE A WONDERFUL, BLESSED WEEK!!