Josiah is 5!

I'm pretty sure I've been more excited about Josiah's birthday--and HE was pretty excited! Josiah has wanted a John Deere Gator battery powered ride on for a looong time. Long as in I tried to get one for his last birthday. Josiah has talked about saving his money for this toy that retails at Wal-Mart for a whopping $350! He has asked how many monies it would take to buy it. He has been convinced that his Grandad would buy it for him. I have told him that it just costs too much money. He has seen said Gator in Wal-Mart and admires it every time. My Mommy heart has wanted to just buy it for him because he has pulled on my heart strings so many times. I gave it another try earlier this month as his 5th birthday approached. I put an "in search of" on a FB page called Second Hand Sweetness. There was no response, but maybe a week later someone commented that they saw a Gator listed on another FB page called Eastern Shore Trash N Treasure. I got so excited I could hardly think straight. It was less than half an hour before the I had the deal secured. $75 for a working Gator that Dad only had to make a few adjustments on. My Dad picked it up for us, stored it at his house, fixed it up and delivered it today.

Here's how it happened! Josiah has had a child's confidence that he would get a Gator. He didn't know when but he was convinced beyond a doubt that he would get it.

When he looked around Dad's truck and saw it, he couldn't tear his eyes away, but he didn't say anything. That was the biggest smile we got.

Then he grabbed my leg and hung on. Really tight.

We walked over together.

It looked like he was going to cry. He wouldn't talk and wouldn't touch it. I thought I was brilliant to make Aliza the videographer. Kept her busy and made her feel important!

Grandad showed him how everything worked.

Finally we asked Josiah if he could move the Gator because it was in the way of Grandad being able to get out of the driveway.

And he was off. Like a pro. No problem steering. Even used reverse perfectly.

And then I started crying. Rivers streaming down my face. I was feeling so thankful that we had this opportunity to make our boy's dream come true.

"Look! I have a big John Deere tractor on my shirt too!" (Yup! Mama made sure of that, my boy.)

We finally were able to coax a few smiles.

And he was off with his sister. They played and played.

Several hours later, Josiah tripped on a step and hurt his lip and gum. There was some blood and he was really crying. I scooped him up in my lap, snuggled him in, and wrapped usup in a blanket (it was a little chilly today!). It was only a few minutes until he fell asleep. In my arms!! He was just tuckered out. Anna was napping and you better believe that I wasn't moving. I held him a good 45 minutes. And I loved every single second of it. =)

When he woke up and had regained his energy he was back out on his Gator until the battery died. 

Josiah saw this fruit pizza on the cover of Life:Beautiful magazine. He thought it looked so yummy! He was right--it was really really decadent. Brownie crust with cream cheese frosting and fruit. 

When I put him to bed tonight I rocked him and listened to him talk. He talked about his Gator--a lot. He told me again that he knew he would get a Gator one day. He said today was a "great day." I asked him how he felt when he saw the Gator. He said happy. He told me that even though he was quiet he was feeling happy. He told me that he knew how to drive it because Grandad told him how. He said even though he was quiet he was listening. Josiah explained to me every detail of driving it and how the bed tips up and how to steer...on and on. He plans to drive his Gator first thing in the morning. I told him that we can recharge the battery at lunch time and during rest time so that he can drive it in the afternoon again. I have a very very happy boy. I am a very very happy Mama with a grateful heart that has been about to burst all day!