Declan is now 5!

I don't update on a regular basis but I am glad that I have a little record of how Declan is growing up and slowly developing into a child of God. On January 17, 2012, Declan ketp saying to me that he wanted to be a christian. We've had several talks over the last few months about Jesus, and what it means to be a Christian. I told him it was a gift that God gives us. He loves us so much that he died to take away the sins of the world. We just need to believe that Jesus died on the cross in order to pay the punishment that we so rightly deserve. Instead of us having to take on the judgement, Jesus took the pain and separation from God while he was dying, as if he was a sinner. Declan had been developing an understanding of right and wrong and was very aware that all people make mistakes and do wrong things which can be called sin. He began to understand that "God loves us NO MATTER WHAT". He forgives us when we ask him. These are things that we talk about and focus on with Declan. Well, that evening he said he wanted to invited Jesus into his heart. He prayed and asked. I was so excited for him and so were his two grandmas (especially Grandma Rutledge). At this point, Gary couldn't really care less. That attitude is changing 100% with Gary but that is a whole other story. Someone said that if Declan begins to 'show fruit' than you know it was genuine. As far as 'showing fruit', one area is feeling remore and striving to do the right things. I see a big change in Declan in this way. He feels bad when he has done something wrong. He is still learning and I know that sometimes this desire to do good is more of an external motivation...he doesn't want to get into trouble and deal with the consequences. Anway, this post has taken a little tangent. However, I think it is a good indication of the way the Lord has been working in my life. He is doing miraculous works in our marriage and family. God is on my mind very frequently and I am desiring more of him. I struggled to get to this point for so long and I am excited for the changes. Over the last several years, I would never have written a post about this kind of stuff because God wasn't on my heart. Now, I can not even separate myself from him even when blogging about Declan's achievements. Anyway, more specifically... Declan's Interests Declan continues to be interested in monster trucks and all sorts of vehicles. I am noticing more lately that he is getting pretty interested in Star Wars because he likes the character characteristics, likes watching the first movie with Gary and some half hour cartoon Star Wars episodes. He has a few characters from it. Also, he likes light sabres and like playing fighting with them. All in all, he is just a typical little boy who loves to pretend to shoot stuff (he calls them pewers still)...though yesterday I heard him call his little gun 'a killer'..yikes:) Declan has caught on to the freedom of pumping himself on the swing and he will for quite a long time. He enjoys his sandbox and especially likes using water in the sandbox to make stuff. He is doing very well with biking on his two-wheeler. He rides like an old pro. He will even go on long distance bike rides around town and will do completely fine with no complaining. He loves feeling like he is apart of something and he likes feeling older. He loves things like the crash up derby, races, watching dirtbikes, etc. He is just a boy's boy. I am going to end this post now, as I am supply teaching and my prep is almost up:)