The Bragonje Boys: An Update

I love the idea of having a family blog and journaling the cute things that happen every day...I'm just really bad at it. I always want to edit the pictures or think of fun things to say but the pressure of all that is actually what prevents me from ever blogging. But I love these days that I have. I love my young family and my wild boys. I want to remember what a happy life we have from day to day. So that is why I'm making another attempt. The pictures won't be perfect and the commentary will probably be boring and unedited but I hope I will show what our daily life is like. Here is to another attempt!!

Joshua didn't eat candy for ONE WHOLE YEAR!!! He literally has more willpower then David and I, combined. We couldn't remember which day he started but we knew it was before Valentines Day (because he kept all the candy he didn't eat that year in a bag). Here he is, after Valentines Day of this year with his first piece of candy in a year. We were so proud of him. We were so proud of him when he had the desire to make the goal in the first place. We were so proud of him when he made it through the first month! It is still strange for me to see him eat candy because I have seen him pass it up for so long.
We decided to pay him for all the candy he saved through the year (we kind of didn't want him to eat it all at once and we are always trying to think of ways that they can earn money). We gave him $50. He quickly and happily paid his $5 in tithing first. He owed David $10 that we had him pitch in for a new desk he wanted for his room. He wanted to put $20 into a mission fund that we decide we would start matching what ever amount he starts putting into that account. And so he had about $15 left over to buy toys.

We finally made it to the store, on a 'date', so he could stare at all the toys for as long as he wanted and spend his money. He was so cute and tried to get the most bang for his buck. Once he got home he realized that the toy he picked out was not very exciting at all. He felt really bad that he had worked so hard to earn all that money and he had nothing really to show for it. When I tucked him in that night he began to cry and cry, which is unusual for him, about how he wished he bought what he had planned on buying and what he really wanted and how long it would take him to earn all that money again. I just held him and tried to calm him. Part of me knew it was a good lesson but part of me wanted to go out and fix it all and have him wake up to the toy he had worked so hard for. Dave was wiser and talked me out of it which was a good thing. Josh woke up happy. Sad that he had $0 again, but back to his happy self. He ended up do jobs and earning money pretty quickly and got the toy of his dreams not long after. Good lesson learned by Josh.