Celebrating life's achievements

Yesterday morning, we were getting ready for school. I was finishing up Beauty's hair, when Pooper began shouting from upstairs,

"I tied my shoes! I did it! Mom, I tied my shoes!"

Putting the last touches on Beauty's stylish coif, I smiled, proud of my boy for accomplishing something that has been so hard for him.

Beauty, nearly 2.5 years younger than Pooper, has been tying her own shoes for nearly a year...and tying her brothers too. One of the side effects that Pooper deals with from all of his chemo, is neuropathy, which makes fine motor tasks very difficult. He usually needs help with buttons and such, and despite lots of trying, hadnt yet been able to tie his own shoes. (minor matters, which only serve to remind us of all the major healing that God did in his life.)

So as he came bounding down the stairs, eager to show off his masterpiece, I hugged him, kissed his head, and told him, "I knew you would be able to tie them."

And I glanced down, at his tiny little shoes, his black "skater" tennies, and saw that both shoes had laces that were tied in a knot. A. simple. knot.

I praised him for his hard work, and smothered him in kisses while he allowed his sister to tie the laces, dragging on the ground, into a bow.

My Mr. Self-Reliant still needs the rest of us, from time to time, and we sure enjoy being able to care for him.

And....Im hoping later tonight to put up videos of Beauty's graduation, and Pooper's acting showcase. Both kids made me swell with pride.