Boys, Oh Boys

I wanted to say thank you to my brother-in-law, Evan for creating a banner for our Etsy shop and for the blog!  Thank you for having mercy on me and my technical-lacking-self, Evan!  He is incredibly talented and gifted, so please look him up at www.northwestgraphic.com if you too have a graphic design need!  Thank you so much, Evan!  I feel like Christmas came early!:)

Boys.  Peyton is all boy.  I didn't really even understand what that meant before I had a little boy, but I am learning.  He loves to love and be loved, he is aggressive, he is caring, he wants to fix things--he is a man in a little body.  It is such a fun combination!  I just finished a good read, "Wild at Heart" and it explains some of the God-given traits of men {it was very helpful for this Mama to read}. According to the book, we often unknowingly "emasculate" our sons, and want them to behave more like girls, but their calling is so much greater than just learning to "be nice and less rambunctious". They are fierce and strong, they need to live a little dangerous, learn to be leaders and warriors.  They also need to spend time in the great outdoors, go to the wild... learning this made it easier for me to send David off on his hunting trip this year.:)  Speaking of sending off, John says mothers have to send their sons on adventures, and fathers need to take them on the adventure.  We have to let go.  Here are a few of the many good quotes in the book...

- "Sometimes, when the mother clings, the boy will try to tear himself away, violently.  This typically comes in the teenage years...She feels rejected and he feels guilty, but he knows he must get away.... I have found that many, many adult men resent their mothers but cannot say why.  They simply know they do not want to be close to them, they rarely call.  As my friend Dave confessed, "I hate calling my mom.  She always says something like, 'It's so good to hear your little voice.'  I'm twenty-five and she still wants to call me her little lamb."  Somehow, he senses that proximity to his mother endangers his masculine journey, as though he might be sucked back in.  It is an irrational fear, but it reveals that both essential ingredients in his passage were missing:  Mom did not let go, and Dad did not take him away. {page 70}.

- "Stasi is a wonderful mother; she has bit her tongue so many times I wonder that she still has one, as she holds her peace while the boys and I rush off to some adventure begging destruction or bloodshed. Her first reaction-"a safe one"- is so natural, so understandable. After all, she is the incarnation of God's tenderness. But if a mother will not allow her son to become dangerous, if she does not let the father take him away, she will emasculate him.... That's the invitation into a man's world, a world involving danger. Implicit in the invitation is the affirmation, "You can handle it; you belong here."' {page66-67}

 Good food for thought, huh?  There are a lot more examples/stories in the book to help illustrate and explain his points.  I recommend!  Anyway. Peyton is really into pointing out how big and strong he is, so I try to be in tuned to affirming him in this area. After he comes in from working with the guys, he likes to point out how dirty his hands are and strut around the room a bit.  The other day, he pointed to a pretend or very small cut on his hand and explained, "I got this cut from a lion, no a bear, or maybe a hippopotamus."  He, he!!  It is very hard for me to keep a straight face as he is very serious about it!:)  Recently, he also "carved" something into the side or our vehicle with a fiberglass stake. I think he told David he was trying to get a bee off. Right.:) Thankfully, Daddy, and he were able to buff it out! He has since been told he is not allowed to go in the garage without permission. David was out in the garage taking garbage out after Julia's party and Peyton came out to help. David asked him, "Buddy, what are you doing out here without permission?". Peyton's only response, "Well, you're the permission'er'!".

I love you, precious, fierce, strong, brave, warrior-man... :)