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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

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April 3, 2011

Simply Sundays…this Boy of Mine

I have a Confession.
When I dreamed about having children someday, the vision always included a lot of pink. Tea parties, dress up, playing princess, and quietly coloring. These were all things I was familiar with. I had an older sister (you might know her!) and knew only about what it was like to have girls in the house. And then the Lord, in His infinite wisdom, gave me a son (the pink did eventually come my way with the arrival of our daughter). This tiny little boy whom my mom swears watched and followed me with his eyes from the moment we brought him home!

He was and still is my little buddy. We had so many adventures together. Every day we would take a walk around the neighborhood, bending down to look through the grates of the drains in the street. This boy was obsessed with drains!

Picking up rocks and putting them in his pockets until he ran out of room and then had to make the torturous decision of which ones to keep and which ones to “swap” out. Happily chatting with the neighbors and making friends wherever he went. I have a vivid memory of walking with him and holding his little chubby hand when he was about 2 years old. I looked down at that little hand and tried to memorize every dimple.
Tried to absorb into my skin, into my very soul, how it felt to hold that hand in mine.

 I knew that this little hand would

Change

Grow

It would not want to be in my hand as often.

It would pull away to go explore the world. As it should!

This boy of mine turned three and began a love affair with trains. I still cannot see a real one without immediately thinking,
“Oh Ian would love that one! It has a cool hopper car.”

He would lay on the floor so he could see the wheels of his little wooden trains turning.

 And I soon realized that I, myself, had learned how to put together a layout for train tracks like nobody’s business. “Hey buddy, if we use this switch track and attach it to this curvy piece here then it will all connect!”

This boy of mine soon transitioned this obsession for trains into a true love of all things mechanical. One day we realized a toy had broken and he looked at me and said,
 “Hey mom, can I take this apart?”
Pause…thinking…thinking…
“Ummm…sure, I guess!”

 Little did I know how those simple words would change my world.

Because now my garage looks like this.

Anything that has broken in our house has ended up being taken apart, studied, occasionally put back together and sometimes he has actually FIXED things!
He also has used his own allowance and gone to garage sales or Goodwill and purchased things with the intention of taking them apart.
I think this used to be some kind of calculator.
I call this next one…”Motherboard as Art“.
Maybe we could start a Motherboard linky party! Pretty cool looking huh?
Ian decided that the smaller ones should be called “Baby-boards”!
Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would have piles and piles of these in my garage. And that I would find little electronic parts in between the cushions of my couch and in the crevices of my car.
Last year Ian’s teacher said, “in all of my years of teaching, I have never had a student bring in a broken camera for show and tell!”
But, here is the thing I want you to know about this boy of mine…
Lest you think that he is holed up in a corner of the garage all day long, you must understand that this is only one facet of his personality.
He loves to climb trees.
He tackles Daddy when he walks through the door so they can wrestle.
He does a “silly underwear dance” in the mirror every morning before getting dressed for school.
He is sweet and loving to his sister one moment and then a big giant stinker the next.
I’m pretty sure his motto is “the dirtier the better”.
And much to my chagrin, he has been known to say,
 “shhhhhh…mom….do you hear that?“
Followed by an offensive sound which is then quickly followed by an even more
offensive smell.
His daddy swears that he isn’t the one who taught him that, but we all know better!
And he has a new passion…
These are pices of bark and rocks from the playground at school which he has deemed “interesting”. Enough so that they come home with him in his pockets and subsequently find their way into my washing machine.
This one is rather beautiful though, don’t you think?
Recently someone asked me to describe Ian in one word.
It caught me off guard.
I thought it was kind of a strange question.
But I didn’t want to be rude and not answer it…I am a People Pleaser after all!
I thought and thought and thought until I landed on the perfect word to describe him.
INDESCRIBABLE!
His curiosity about the inner workings of everything from cameras to the Solar System has broadened my horizons and awakened my own curiosity. Although, I often say that while he is getting smarter and smarter, I am getting dumber and dumber!
But, thank goodness “God is God and I am NOT!”
Because He knew just how much I needed
This Boy of Mine…
Thank you for joining me for Simply Sunday at the Fence,

21 Comments Filed Under: Good Thoughts, Kids, Simply Sundays

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Comments

  1. At The Picket Fence says

    April 3, 2011 at 1:35 PM

    I know we shouldn’t comment on our own blog…but…sob. This has been a rough weekend anyway, with my “boy” gone playing Army and now…sigh my Ian is getting big too. Our favorite Ian”isms”…”Isn’t that interesting?” and “Tanker, tanker, tanker, tanker…” Love that boy!

    Heather

    Reply
  2. Ashley says

    April 3, 2011 at 1:56 PM

    I can’t even begin to tell you how much I can relate to this post. I had my girl first. And when it came time for number 2, all I wanted was more bows and dresses. When the u/s tech told me it was a boy, I was speechless. I’d never changed a boys diaper and had no idea what to do with a little boy. But the second I met him, my heart melted completely. He has me wrapped around his tiny fingers. He, too, is obsessed with trains right now. And often in the middle of watching him play, he will stop, look up at me with his adorably chubby almost 2 year-old face and say, “Mommy, yub you.” I would give anything to freeze these moments because I know those I love you’s will become less frequent as time passes. And I cannot agree with you more. I praise God constantly that He was in charge and not me. Because He knew how much my little boy would mean to me and change my life!

    Reply
  3. Pattie says

    April 3, 2011 at 2:18 PM

    Oh but he is soooo Cute…. And don’t feel bad I have a daughter and she hates pink… I only got away with it when she was a baby..
    Have a good Sunday

    ~~Pattie~~

    Reply
  4. Sherry @ No Minimalist Here says

    April 3, 2011 at 2:31 PM

    Hi Vanessa, This is just the sweetest post ever. It brought back so many memories of my own son when he was a child. Enjoy the experience of having a son!
    Hugs,
    Sherry

    Reply
  5. Trisha says

    April 3, 2011 at 2:44 PM

    What a sweet post:) I know everyone says this…but they just grow too fast!! It’s so very true.

    Reply
  6. The Decorative Dreamer says

    April 3, 2011 at 3:26 PM

    Having two boys I can also totally relate! I can also relate because my husband can fix almost anything and my youngest is also much the same but has put his focus into building, fixing and maniupulating computers. Thank God for creating such wonderful inquisitve minds. I am always all struck when I think of how differently they must see the world then I. Even greater is to think of how special and wonderfully individual God has created each of us to honor him. Hang in there! I think you are doing great with your blessings!

    Reply
  7. The Decorative Dreamer says

    April 3, 2011 at 3:28 PM

    LOL! I meant to say AWE struck! 🙂

    Reply
  8. CAS says

    April 3, 2011 at 3:35 PM

    Well, I’m trying to write this comment through tear-filled eyes. You definitely opened an emotional floodgate of memories of our son as a young lad. Some very similar characteristics, I might add. As much as I cherished & enjoyed Michael as a little boy, I am truly treasuring him today at 38 and fantastic father of 4. You truly have so much to look forward to, Vanessa. Enjoy the ride. Sniff, sniff.
    CAS

    Reply
  9. NanaDiana says

    April 3, 2011 at 4:14 PM

    Oh- You have MY own son’s clone at your house! He was taking things apart when he was 2 or 3 years old…a screwdriver in hand he overtightened every switchplate in the house until it cracked.(yes, yes, I know there is electric there-we were working on the place and he was power free)…he would fill his pockets with stones. When he was 16 he bought a car with electrical problems. Took the WHOLE car apart and numbered each item and hung it on the wall of the garage, rewired the car, and it worked! He is STILL a MamasBoy (as everyone called him) and is such a loving husband to his wife…and guess what? He can FIX anything and DO anything that needs to be done. Your son will be one of the biggest blessings in your life when he is grown. Happy memories here today for me! xxoo Diana

    Reply
  10. All That Glitters says

    April 3, 2011 at 4:50 PM

    Beautiful post Vanessa!!! Boys, I tell ya! They are something else.

    Reply
  11. Amanda says

    April 3, 2011 at 5:39 PM

    What a wonderful post, you have a cracking little man, but you already know that! It was my twins 2nd birthday yesterday and mothers day today, and I can so relate to this post! I always thought kids would mean pink, but I’m surprised by just how much I love the trains, mud, paint all over the house and silly willy dances when their nappies come come off! Boys are just fantastic, I’m sure girls are too but I need to convince hubby we need another kid! Thank you for sharing such a wonderful post.

    Reply
  12. Judy says

    April 3, 2011 at 6:19 PM

    I can relate so much to this post. I had my son first. I was sure I would have a girl first, but I didn’t. I remember when they told me on the sonogram that it was going to be a boy. I had a tiny twinge of, really? What did I know? As it turned out, God does know best. My son became my best pal in the whole world. We did everything together. We use to call him “the little man”. That’s just what he was. He too went through a train stage and to this day whenever I see a cool train I want to tell him about the chug chug (what he used to call them). He’s turning fourteen in May which makes me feel a little sick every time I say it out loud. He’s still my best pal, but now I have to share him more with the rest of the world. Thanks for the great post.

    Reply
  13. Courtney ~ French Country Cottage says

    April 3, 2011 at 2:26 PM

    What a fantastic post Vanessa. Absolutely beautiful and touching. Love this. Hugs, Courtney

    Reply
  14. Carol says

    April 3, 2011 at 9:50 PM

    Vanessa,

    Thank you for the sweet post. It reminded us, once again, that we have a very special grandson. We love him (and you) very much!

    Mom and Dad

    Reply
  15. Cindy says

    April 3, 2011 at 4:43 PM

    Beautiful post. That boy of yours is precious!!!

    Reply
  16. Kristin says

    April 4, 2011 at 2:24 AM

    Vanessa,
    You know I have a deep and abiding love for all things boy. And I, like you, only grew up with a sister, so I could only imagine pink. But now, oh my. Where would I be with out my guys?
    I love the one of Ian on the floor. My little guy does that every day. He loves his trains, trucks and tractors so much and he always loves to see the wheels move slowly in a rotation. Which works best at eye level! I can see his little mind just rotate along with them.
    And the feel of two year old hand in mine. Priceless.
    Such a heartwarming post.
    I can totally relate.
    Have a wonderful week.
    Love, Kristin

    Reply
  17. Anita says

    April 4, 2011 at 3:29 AM

    Oh Vanessa, this is just so heartwarming! I think my son is definitely on the same path! He does so many of the same things. Now it is trains, but we have been through the rock phase. They are so sweet:-)

    Reply
  18. Els Manning says

    April 4, 2011 at 4:04 AM

    my son just took a job out of state. And i so feel your heart strings being jerked a little. I understand. I keep telling myself, i know its all good. It’s a job opportunity. And he is happy with it. But the mother in me cries. I remember cleaning those rocks out of his pockets before washing his pants… Now he climbs them. He played with air planes. Now he jumps out of them. For fun. Oh how fast time went… Just know you are not alone… 🙂

    Reply
  19. Debbie says

    April 4, 2011 at 11:16 AM

    You know how you start reading a post and just keep smiling and smiling?

    I just did that.

    You made me smile and then laugh at the offensive noise and smell. I was denied the…um… pleasure because we have no blue among the pinks.

    I think he’s going to be an engineer some day.

    Reply
  20. Sue says

    April 9, 2011 at 4:18 PM

    Oh Vanessa, Treasure all these moments now- they go by so quickly. I never believed people when they told me so… Little boys are a hoot. Mine was a football jock and I know he loved when I went to his games and yelled at the refs. He used to tell people I actually knew what I was talking about and that I was the one mom who didn’t ask dumb questions about the game! Can you tell I was a jockette? Now you go off and have fun with this guy~ hugs, Sue

    Reply
  21. Fred Clark says

    April 8, 2013 at 2:36 PM

    Great post! My boy who just turned 3 last month also is fascinated by drains, as well as Ceiling fans and Washing machines. When we take walks on the street, we spend so much time looking down the drains, he know likes to drop pebbles down them and here it kurplunk, lol. He also has other interests like coloring, running (he’s very fast), biking, swimming, you name it, ect. He’s a very fun kid and we love him so much.

    Reply

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Yesterday on the way home from school I had the ra Yesterday on the way home from school I had the radio tuned to my daughter's favorite station and a song that was playing had a line in it that really stood out to me. It made reference to a 'season of the sticks' which I think its safe to say must mean winter. I thought that was such an accurate, albeiet kind of depressing, picture of this time of the year.

While we definitely have more than our fair share of evergreen trees here in Oregon, we also have plenty of trees and bushes that are reduced to sticks during the cold months. But, this morning as I looked out my kitchen window, greedily sipping from my mug of coffee, I marveled at the beauty of the winter sunrise. The sky was all pinks and oranges with frost on the rooftops and a little bit of fog. And, I realized that part of why it was so amazing is because I could see it more clearly through the sticks. The bare branches allowed me a view that I wouldn't be able to see if those same branches were covered in leaves. Being stripped down to almost nothing revealed something magnificent.

We have seasons of the sticks in our lives too, don't we? Times when we feel as though we've been stripped bare and left exposed. It's easy to think that this is a place where all is ugly and dark. And yet, just like the winter sunrise was more visible because of the bare branches, the vulnerability we feel in the winter season of our souls allows us to get a glimpse of beauty that we wouldn't see otherwise. In the lush, warm seasons it's so easy to become comfortable. But in the bare, cold seasons we recognize just how much we need to rely on the One who placed the stars in the heavens and is sovereign over all.

If you feel like your soul has been stripped bare and you've been left exposed and vulnerable, may I encourage you today to ask the Lord to help you to see the beauty in this 'season of the sticks'.

“Answer me quickly, O Lord! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul." Psalm 143:7
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