Sleepy Talk

I just went downstairs to check on the kids.  They've been in bed for about an hour.  Eden, sound asleep, was wrapped up in a fleece blanket and getting sweaty.  So I unwound the blanket and covered her with a lighter blanket.  Just as I was kissing her, she started to talk, but I don't think she was really quite awake.

"Mama, I like your . . . I like your . . . I like your . . . "

She rubbed her face and tried again:  "Mama, I like your . . . I like your . . . "

She paused to gaze into my waiting face.  One more try:  "Mama, I like your . . ."

Pregnant pause, and then,  "I like your . . . I like your brain."

And all quiet.  Sleepy girl.

Happy Birthday Dear Yaya!

Nicknames

Last night we went out for dessert with Amah (Nathan's mom).   This is the conversation we had in the car.

Eden:  What's my nickname?
Me:  Well, sometimes I call you "Sweetness."
Eden:  I think you should call me "Sucker" because I suck my thumb.
Z (yelling):  Yes!  Suckerrr!
Amah (trying not to laugh): Or, maybe we could call you something else.  Like maybe "Bright Eyes."
Eden (contemplating this suggestion as she sucks her thumb): No . . . I think you should call me "Sucker."
Z (absolutely delighted):  Sucker!  Eden's nickname is Suckerrrr!

2nd Grade

Z's 2nd grade school picture.  I like it!

Fashion Plate

I found this picture today and can't resist posting it.  It's from a year ago.

Fossils, Legos, and Doctors

Z participated in his school's Hobby Fair this year.  He and Nathan worked very hard on a display/game in which Z showed off rocks and fossils and other things from his collection, and kids had to identify what each thing was: a rock, a fossil or an "other".  Anyone who played the game got a piece of candy.  It was a great success (except for the fact that I didn't take a single picture of the event).  Kids were lined up to play the game and try to figure out the difference between rocks and fossils.  Z did a wonderful job of explaining the game, explaining the difference between rocks and fossils, telling kids the correct answers, and then handing out the candy.  His display was so busy he had almost no time to look at all the other hobbies on display.  But he did manage to see a couple, one of which was a display of lego figures.  We asked the kid which one was his favorite, and he pointed to a little lego nurse.  He said it was his favorite because his mom is a nurse.

Eden, meanwhile, was having a fantastic time roaming around the room with Amah.  There were quite a few displays of the Lego Friends (legos for girls).  She particularly liked the lego set of a veterinarian's office.  (I don't know why these lego sets have to be called "Lego Friends."  Why can't they just be called Legos, and whoever likes them, girls or boys, can buy them and play with them??).

On the way home, the three of us had the following conversation:

Z:  Why did that kid like the nurse lego figure the best?
Me:  Because his mom is a nurse.
Eden:  His mom is a nurse?
Me:  That's what he said.
Z:  But you're a doctor, right?
Me:  Yes, I'm a doctor.
Eden:  But not the kind that helps people.
Me:  That's true.  I'm a doctor of theology, not medicine.
Z:  But you help people learn more about God.
Me:  That's true! (feeling happy to be understood and appreciated!)
Eden:  But you're still our mom, right?
Me:  Yes, I'm your mom, and I'm a doctor.
Eden:  Is everyone's mom a doctor?
Me:  No, not everyone's.  But yours is.

The Work of the Holy Spirit

Last weekend our church had an outreach party/picnic in our neighborhood.  We're located in a lower income neighborhood that is home to a lot of immigrants, including many Hispanics.  We arrived at church that afternoon and the kids immediately wanted to jump on the inflatables, so we went over there.  I was watching Eden when I noticed a woman standing by herself watching a couple of other kids.  When she saw me looking at her she smiled, which I took as an invitation to walk on over and chat with her.  We introduced ourselves, but I quickly discovered that she spoke very little English, and of course I speak no Spanish.  We were struggling along when Z ran past.  I reached out and snagged him and said, "Z, this woman only speaks Spanish, so I can't really talk to her.  But can you tell her that she should stay and have some food and the kids can play as long as they want?"  Without missing a beat, he just started talking away in Spanish, gesturing towards the food and the bouncy toys.  She smiled and nodded, and then Z ran off again.

To put it mildly, I was thrilled!  And not primarily because Z can now act as my interpreter whenever I need him to, although that is fantastic.  Later that afternoon I told Z that the first gift the Holy Spirit ever gave to the Church was the gift of tongues.  That's how important God thinks it is that people hear about Jesus and get invited into his people in their own language.  And now Z is a part of that!  He is using his Spanish to welcome Spanish speakers into God's Church!

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I have had several remarkable conversations with Eden in the last few days.  On Sunday we were driving in the car when she initiated this conversation:

Eden:  Did God's Son really die?
Me:  Yes, he did.  You know God's Son is Jesus, right?
Eden: How did he die?
Me:  People killed him by nailing his arms and legs to a piece of wood.  The wood is called a cross, and that's why we say that Jesus died on the cross.
Eden:  Are you KIDDING me??
Me:  No, it's a true story.  Jesus died so that we wouldn't have to.  But what happened three days after he died?
Eden:  He came back alive again!
Me:  Yes, he came back alive again!  That's how we know that Jesus is so powerful, because he didn't stay dead.
Eden (very seriously):  I think I want to love him.

Then yesterday as she and I were taking a walk she said again spoke up out of the blue:

Eden:  Mama, I want to obey Jesus.  
Me:  That's so great, Eden!  We obey Jesus because we trust him and know he loves us  
Eden (after a few moments of thought): I'm glad I got baptized.
Me:  Me too!  Why are you glad?  
Eden:  Because I want to love Jesus.

Her baptism is the oddest mixture of both infant baptism and believer's baptism, which seems wonderfully right somehow.

And just today as we were driving to the zoo Eden again spoke up suddenly, saying, "Mama, when Jesus comes back he'll make our baby alive again.  That's why I love him."  It is almost impossible for me to say how happy I am that when Eden thinks of her twin brother or sister, she does so in the context of resurrection, and that at three years old she is able to articulate that that is the reason she loves Jesus -- because he brings life out of death.

"When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father -- the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me."  John 15:26