# 8 ~ A Child With A Healthy Mind & Body

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A Child With A Healthy Mind & Body

Last year, when Aaron Jr and I were at the home of one of my friend's, she pulled out a toy for the kids to play with. It was a track that you put together and battery powered cars that drive on it. Well, ever since then, Aaron Jr has asked for that toy. I don't like to buy new toys for no reason, so I kept putting him off and then he would ask again. Well, after we started working on his letters, he brought it up again and I had an idea. I told Aaron that once he learns his letters, I will buy the toy for him. This meant he had to learn three things... he had to know the names of the letters just by looking at them, he had to know their sounds, and he had to be able to write them from memory without any help.

Well, the day before Halloween (October 30), I got the flashcards out and we went through them one time and he struggled with knowing a couple of the letters. So, I told them to him. Then we went through them again and he got them perfect. After that, we did the sounds and he did those as well... so the last thing he had to do was write them out. In the above photo is the finished product.

HE DID IT!!!

I was so proud of him and he was so proud of himself. He was cheering and I was cheering and we were both SO excited. I thought that was pretty good since the only letter he knew before September was the letter X. Since then, he still knows them and he is obsessed with writing out letters and sees shapes of letters in everything. Even sticks on the sidewalk the other day were crossed and he called me back to show me that the sticks were making an X. I LOVE it.

So, that evening, we went to the store and I bought the toy for him. The photo below is of him with his new toy after we got it all set up. He loves it.


So, now this brings me to what I am grateful for today. I am grateful that my son is healthy, both in mind and in body.

I have always felt like he was learning in the same time frame as most of the boys his age and haven't really had many concerns about his learning ability. I will admit, watching girls his age learn their letters at an earlier age than him was concerning for me... but there were many factors. The ones we spend time around a lot have older siblings and I know that can make a difference. I have also heard that girls learn some things faster than boys. I have taken comfort in that even if it is not true. :)

When Aaron began to have a problem with stuttering last year, I was very concerned. We have watched a nephew of mine struggle with that and it was heartbreaking. His parents were worried and many prayers were said in his behalf. That nephew is doing so much better now and the stuttering seems to be dwindling more and more. He has been working hard and he is doing so great. We sure love him.

As far as Aaron Jr is concerned... he still stutters some, but it is so much better than it was 6 or 8 months ago. I am sure that life circumstances can add to things like that and after Aaron passed away, I felt like we were in a state of limbo for a long time... and I wondered if some of that kind of stuff was a contributing factor. But I feel like it is not so much like that anymore... I hope.

As far as Aaron's body goes, he has always been healthy. He has never had any issues with growth... unless being REALLY tall for his age is a problem. :) Besides the normal sickness stuff plus one broken arm, he has always been healthy. This is something to DEFINITELY be grateful for. I have another nephew who is 3 1/2 years old and he has struggled with his health for most of his short life. Watching him struggle with his health has been heart breaking... and watching his parents worry over him and pray constantly about how to help him has been humbling. After a lot of prayer and inspiration, that nephew's parents have finally found some things that have helped him and he is doing better little by little. We all hope he is on his way to a healthier life. We sure love him.

So, I wanted to share my gratitude for Aaron Jr's health. I know it is not something to take for granted. It is a huge blessing... and I am grateful.

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