At Considerable Cost

 About a year and a half ago, our then next-door-neighbor showed up on my doorstep with a huge bag in her hands.  "Could you use this?   I'm just going to throw it away if you don't want it."   A big bag of free?   Always.   "Sure," I said.   Then, I stuffed it in the closet, without looking at its contents, just knowing it was pirate stuff left over from a birthday party.   Every time it was in my way, I considered, for the briefest of moments, throwing the whole lot out.   But then I remembered it was free and I shoved it aside as I looked for the latest lost item.   Last fall, Netflix added Disney's Jake and the Neverland Pirates  to their line-up and Thomas was an instant fan.   At Halloween, he wanted to be Jake, specifically.   I nudged him toward a cheaper costume so he was a pirate, generally.            For the next two months, he told us all about his Jake and the Neverland Pirates (you have to say the whole thing, not jus

Thomas Becket, born December 31, 2008, 10:59 a.m., 8 lbs. 9 oz. On the seventh day of Christmas... For Thomas's second birthday, I wrote a bit about the day he was born and included some of his baby pictures: http://loaves-and-fishes.blogspot.com/2010/12/officially-toddler.html Today, my baby, my little boy, turns five years old and while I am thankful for his healthy growth, I am not taking it extremely well that my baby is five and will start school next year.   Thomas is such a sweet boy, always ready with a kiss and hug.   He tears around the house, wearing his Thomas the Tank Engine blanket as a cape, as he pretends to be Superman, Thor, or some other super hero.   He loves watching Gator Boys and pretending to wrestle his stuffed alligators.   He is spoiled by his two big sisters and maybe a bit by his mama.   He would eat candy and snack foods all day if we let him, but he also likes to eat ham and eggs, although not necessarily green.   He can run fast, catch