A few moments with the two year old . . .

So, on my last post, I wrote about a few cute moments I've had with Darius, our five year old foster kid. I can't leave out the two year old, Xavier. I have to be honest and say that my attitude hasn't been great with Xavier . . . Jeremy and I did not intend to have a two year old here, and now, I think we've even decided that after the boys leave, we'll probably stick with four years and up, as I think three year olds would be just as tough. However, Xavier is a sweet little boy who just adores me (even though I lose patience with him several times a day) and he deserves the best from me, which I try to give him. Here are a few moments to share:
1. I've been taking him and Clara to the YMCA a few times/week so I can get a break and workout. The first time he went in childcare, he cried for 20 minutes. He's gotten progressively better since then, and today he made a crying face, but held back the tears. When I come back to get him, I get such a warm welcome. Today, there were several other moms waiting at the check-out counter (sounds like a grocery store, huh?) and when Xavier saw me, he just came running with his arms up and yelled "Mama!" and was ecstatic to see me. Some of the other moms said, "Isn't that the best?" . . . they obviously don't know that he's not my permanent kid, but he sure treats me like his permanent mommy.
2. He is very good at going to stores. He sits in the shopping cart and waves and says hello to everyone, who, in turn say hello back and then pass by and make a comment to themselves about how cute he is. I must say, I feel kinda proud that he's with me . . . :)
3. Finally, he is doing great things for Clara, including making her a little more snuggly and making her appreciate the time she gets to be held and played with by me. Last night, I was home alone with the kids, as Jeremy was at church. I try to rock Xavier before bedtime for a few minutes, as he fusses a lot less when I do. I went to Clara's room to rock him, and put Clara down on the floor to play for a few minutes. She immediately crawled over to the rocking chair and stood up holding my leg and whined for me to pick her up. So, I rocked both of them and sang for about 5 minutes. For those of you who know Clara, you know that she rarely wants to just sit still and be rocked by anyone. It was very special to sit there with two beautiful children of God and sing my little Psalty song, "We're all children of the Lord" as they both leaned their little heads on me.

Sometimes, in the middle of the day when Xavier is getting into everything or yelling because he doesn't want to take a nap, or Clara is crawling from place to place putting dog food in her mouth, I have to stop and think about the job God has given to me for this time and be grateful that He's entrusting these kids to me, of all people.