In the eyes of a child

The other day Gabe and I had a conversation about strength.  He asked me to squeeze his muscle and see how strong he was.  As I did I said "Wow Gabe,  you are getting so strong!"  and his reply was "but I am not as strong as daddy,  daddy is so strong he is even stronger than..."  and a long space of time came as he searched him mind for the strongest person in the world.   I was anticipating him to say Spiderman or Superman or even a Ninja Turtle.  But after the delay of thought he replied, "daddy is even stronger than Jesus!"   Wow,  I stood there stunned.  How do you reply to something like that?  Of course there is no one stronger than Jesus I thought, but how wonderful that Gabe at 4 years old recognizes that Jesus has more power than even a super hero.   And even better,  how great in a child's mind that he can compare his own father to Jesus.  

I'm no lover of chickens

   I have distinct memories of my mother telling me to go get the eggs from our chicken coop.  Now,  I must have been no older than 6 or 7.  It was a love hate relationship... me and the chickens.   The rooster loved to attack me and peck my back as I ran away and I just hated the chickens.   Even now as an adult I can't stand the smell or idea of touching one of those hard wirey birds.   But, it was no problem for Claire.  She could  not wait to hold one.    Good thing,   because next week we have the job of caring for newly hatched chicks for our preschool.   We will take them home over night and make sure they are kept warm and safe.  I think Claire will enjoy most of this responsibility! 

First tool kit

They grow up fast!  Gabe got his first "real" tool kit this year.  No lie... the real deal.  Equipped with hammer, a set a screw drivers, ratchet set and much much more.   He can hardly wait for some toy's batteries to run out so that he can unscrew the battery case and replace it.  He unscrews the screws in our door jam hardware.  Anything that "needs" taking apart is.  If daddy is doing any handy work what-so-ever Gabe want to be involved.  It is so fun for me to watch him turn into a little man.   

    Yet, the innocence is still there.  He still crawls into my lap many times during the day for a good snuggle and of late he tries to out best me on the "I love you more than..."  the latest is "Mommy... I love you more than 50/20 bigger than Heaven down to the Earth."   Now,  can you get better than that???   The other day when reviewing a little stranger danger I asked Gabe what he would do if a stranger tried to give him something.  He said,  " I would pray for Heavenly Father to protect me."   

A day at Slide Ranch

   This week we spent a day at Slide Ranch.  For me it was a day of appreciation of our beautiful world and most especially for my children.  The first thing the leaders at the ranch taught was respect for the land and for the animals.  At 4 1/2 our children really understood.  

   We started our day by milking Bata the goat.  As you can see,  Claire was a ready and willing milker.   Before it was even time to start she was taking off her jacket and rolling up her sleeves!   She wanted to be first!   She was not shy about digging for worms in the worm box either. 

   When we arrived at the worm box,  it was Gabe who was truly in Heaven.   He could have explored this box for hours,  digging through half eaten fruit and worm compost finding as many worms as possible.  I guess this is what being a boy is about! 

Little Blessings

There is nothing sweeter than when your three year old spontaniously stops what they are doing to give you a hug and tell you they love you. I had no idea it would be like this...times two! These moments are often now and I savor them. I hate to admit that as warned time goes by so quickly.

Favorite moments stay embedded in my mind. Claire and Gabe at their first swim lesson at age 2 1/2. Listening intently to the teenage instructor ask them to introduce themselves and me sitting a short distance away seeing the perplexed look on their faces as I realize they have no idea what "introduce" means. When the young instructor finally realized this she asked them to give their names and I see little Claire put her arm protectively around her bigger brother and say "I am Claire and this is my brother Gaby".

A night out on the town with dinner at a posh restaurant can not compare to an evening in where all gather in our bedroom to watch the kids do jump stunts off the headboard of our bed.

Who would have known I would be disappointed when Gabe learned to call his pillow, pillow instead of 'Padue" ? And will I be disappointed or just relieved when they stop having conversations about who has what body part and who doesn't while sitting in the cart in the check out isle of Costco?

I am learning more than I ever thought possible from a two three year olds. Things like special emergency techniques for getting soybeans out of noses thanks to Claire. And because Gabe takes anything he can get his hands on apart I have learned to be a handyman for home and toy repair.