best nite ever!

so i will cut to the chase and tell you why wed nite, dec 7, 2011 was the best nite ever... my sweet trace carter prayed to receive christ! PRAISE THE LORD!!!!! we were on the way home from church... and i always try and ask the kiddos what they learn at awana's. i usually don't get much of an answer from lucas, but trace is good to tell me all about what they did and learned! so this is what i gathered from trace... their lessons was a christmas illustration where several things were wrapped in boxes. ( mary/joseph, baby jesus, wisemen... ) and trace got to open the "special" box. it had a mirror in it... and when you look into the mirror, you see that jesus wants to be your gift.. he wants to come live in your heart. so keep in mind, it's dark, i'm driving, and trace was telling me all this. so when he told me that jesus wants to live in your heart,  i did what most mamas would do at this time, and asked him if he had ever prayed and asked jesus into his heart.. well he said no. so i asked did he want to... and he said YES. remember, i'm driving down the road. never expected my "what did you learn at church tonite question" to turn into this discussion!! so we were about 2 miles from home, and i was trying to stall so i could really have a deep conversation with him. but without my prompting, trace said- jesus, come into my heart!! then he said it again- jesus, come into my heart! he waited a few seconds, looked around, and said- he's not coming, mom. then, i hear him say, JESUS, come into my heart, or i'm gonna KICK YOU IN THE FACE! oh my word... did my child just say that?! is it even possible to ask jesus in your heart in one sentence then tell him you are gonna kick him in the face the next? so for the next 2 minutes, we talked about how you never tell anyone you are gonna kick them, ESP jesus!! anyways. we get home... (sidenote: nate had just gotten in from being out of town for a 3 day business trip. we were so excited to see daddy's truck in the driveway!) we walk in and bless him, nate was doing the dishes! :) i asked trace to tell daddy what he told me in the car. trace told nate about the boxes, the mirror, etc... and nate also asked if he had ever prayed that prayer... again, trace said no.. so nate asked him the same thing i asked- did he want to pray and ask jesus in his heart. and again, he said YES... but this time, there was no talk of kicking anyone in the face. ;o) we all went to the boys room. lucas sat in my lap, and trace sat in nate's. nate talked to trace, asked him some questions, and we knew he was very serious about his decision. he prayed to receive christ and it was the sweetest thing. i was crying my eyes out by time it was over. (another sidenote: since nate had been gone, it had been the worst week. the kids were awful, work was very stressful, my parents were sick so i had to find another sitter... just so much and i was close to not even going to church wed nite. it's so funny how god's timing is perfect.) anyways, trace praying to receive christ that nite was the best news ever, ESP after such a crappy few days. :-) so after we cried and hugged and prayed and cried some more, trace called bitsy and poppi to tell them the good news. it was so sweet. trace told them what had happened, and i could just hear mom and dad crying on the other end of the phone! the same for meme when he called her. it was so sweet. then he called aunt nae nae and uncle josh. i will never ever forget that moment of being so proud and happy for my baby! it was close to 9pm after trace made his special phone calls to tell family the awesome news, and i told trace that the angels in heaven were having a party for him! so of course, if the angels are partying, we need to party too!! we broke out the chocolate milk, christmas tree snack cakes and rice crispy treats, and had our own little celebration! :)  i am so thankful for our church and all the people that make awanas possible. it truly means so much to me, knowing that trace has learned so much about jesus in sunday school, children's church, cbs, and awanas. it's such a blessing to see how god is moving!! i love love love that my baby boy (he is 4, will be 5 in march) made the best and most important decision of his lifetime at such an early age. we pray for him daily, and ask god to continue to speak to his little heart and draw him close. trace is so tender-hearted and has such a sweet sweet spirit. i look forward to helping him learn more about christ, and i also now look forward to the day when lucas will ask jesus to come in his heart! with christmas being just a few weeks away, this truly was an AMAZING gift!!

thank you god, for saving my sweet baby boy, and for the promise that you will never leave him. that you will always be there to guide him, and one day he will spend eternity with you in heaven!!! thank you for trusting me and nate to be his parents. forgive us when we fail you, and when we fail trace. help us always seek you as we raise him! in jesus' name, AMEN!