Isaiah Sanele

I wrote about Laila last week. I wanted to take the time to write about Isaiah this week and get down all of the things that make him so special. He is a passionate little boy. Every emotion that he feels, he feels it to the fullest. That is great when he is happy, not so much when he is mad. :) I love his passion and just know that God has an amazing plan for him. We have fought a spiritual battle to bring this guy into our family. I have no doubt that Satan wants to thwart God's purposes in his life. Here are a few things that I want to remember about Isaiah as a two year old.

1. Isaiah is extremely verbal. When we took custody of him, he knew about 5 English words, but he talked non stop in his language. I knew he would pick up English quickly but had no idea that in less than 3 months he would be completely fluent. He speaks better than many 2 year olds who have lived here their whole lives. The one downside is that he talks nonstop. Some days he exhausts me with his nonstop chatter. I have told the kids we should count how many times he says, "Mama" in one day. It has to be well over 100!!

2. Favorite things - Isaiah absolutely loves pizza and bananas. For a while after we brought him home, he would ask for those two things at every meal. He also loves Baby Einstein videos. I think that watching these videos have been a huge factor in him learning English so quickly. He is an extrovert so he loves going places, especially church. Every time he goes to his class at church, he comes home so happy and energized. He also likes music. He wants to listen to music every minute that we are in the truck. He sings along with the songs. He is a good singer and dancer. I can't wait to take him back to Africa and have him hear the people singing at church. It is one of the most beautiful sounds on the earth.

3. Funny things he says and does - When he is finished doing any task, he will wipe his hands together like he is wiping them off. He did this from the day we met him. He loves to work. The best way to keep him happy and out of trouble is to give him a job to do. He says some really cute things. His latest are "goodness," "you want a piece of me?," "you want a piece of the title?(both of these things most often to Rick)," "mommy, I hold you," "whoa, cool!," and the latest when he is told not to do something, "ok, Mom."

4. Some of the habits we have had to overcome - Whenever he is finished eating, he just throws everything on the floor, food, bowls, cups, plates, silverware, you name it. We are working on this one. It is getting better. He is also learning to share. I suspect that in the environment he was in, it was every man for himself. He is learning that he doesn't have to protect his food and things anymore. When he first came home, he did a lot of hitting, biting, and pinching. He has really improved in this area and we are all thankful for that. His behavior has changed so much over the last 5 months. He is still a strong willed 2 year old, but he has grown so much in the area of behavior. (It is so funny, because after typing this, he has been really out of control this afternoon. That is just the way it goes.)

5. Isaiah is a little prayer warrior. I have no idea if he was ever taught to pray before he joined our family, but he absolutely knows how to pray now. He wants to pray at his meals and before bed when we take turns. He has gone from only repeating what we tell him to say to now saying his prayers like this, "Jesus, amen for our food, amen for our family, etc." It is adorable. It is also very important to him that everyone is participating in prayer time. He looks around and calls anyone out who doesn't have their hands folded and eyes closed. I had one really hard discipline day with him. After a 2 hour battle over nap time, I finally decided to pray over him. While I did out loud, he closed his eyes, folded his hands and said, "Yes, Jesus!" It was all I could do not to laugh at that point.

6. Isaiah loves his little sister, Laila. He shares with her, protects her, comforts her, loves on her. He is very aware of her and wants the best for her. He is actually that way with all his brothers and sisters. If he gets something, he wants to make sure that everyone else does, too. When Rick is leaving for work, he makes sure everyone gets a hug and kiss, not just himself. If he gets a snack, he asks for a snack for all the kids.

7. He is extremely loving and affectionate. He puckers up those cute little lips and it is adorable. He says, "I love you" a lot. He loves to give hugs regularly.

8. Isaiah is animated. If you have been around him for even a couple of minutes you will grasp this. He has a million dollar smile that will melt any heart and he knows how to use it. It is always obvious when he is around. He has the cutest little face where he points his finger and rolls his eyes. It makes everyone who sees it laugh.

There are a million more things I could write about my son. The biggest one of all is that he is a gift from God and I am thankful for him. My life is forever changed by this little guy whose name means, "My God is Salvation, we have enough, we are satisfied."