Tuesday, August 30

A Thankful Little Heart

Last night, as we were all gathered in the playroom for family scripture study and prayers when I found a folded piece of paper on the floor, with "my thankfall list" written on the outside. Interested, I unfolded it and found this:

small and simple things
my dall
my family
Aroru
frend's
chaklet
hot gloo guns
the holy ghost
borbr shops
pezza
cloths
my stripy blanket
Eliza
the gospol
Hevinly Fathr and Jesuss
the erth
smily fasis (with a smiley face next to it)
the schriptrs
the charch
primairi
mistiunary's
hospitl's
calring book's
cartoon
family homeivning
candy

And then my little girl signed it.

I am grateful for my daughter's thankful little heart. I am pleased that she is thankful for at least two of her sisters, and that she notices the little things (coloring books, hot glue guns) and the big things (the earth, Heavenly Father and Jesus). I think having a thankful heart is contagious. And I am grateful for that, too.

What are you blessed with today?

Monday, August 29

Floaty Suit

My toddler - well,  I refer to him as a toddler, but really he is almost three. He doesn't "toddle" at all, he runs and climbs and jumps and does gymnastics everywhere he goes. He's a little kinetic ball of enthusiasm and destruction. He is focused and fearless.

Tonight we went swimming as a family. My fearless little man marched up to the diving board - much to the amusement of all the college students at the pool with us - and stood on the edge, gauging the awesomeness of jumping off against the terror of jumping in. He had on the floaty swimming suit, and my husband was treading water under the diving board to help him back to the shallow end.

Still, my son stood there. It wasn't long before every person at the pool had stopped what they were doing and were watching this pint-sized diver on the diving board. Finally, my oldest daughter walked out on the diving board and helped him jump in. The pool erupted into spontaneous applause.

I am grateful for that floaty suit. It was given to us by a friend, and it enables my boy to swim and splash and play with wild abandon...and hog the diving board without giving the life guards or his mother a heart attack. I am grateful for the life guards, who love my little boy and are so patient with him. I am grateful for two dozen college kids who don't know us from Adam, who clapped for my toddler when he finally dived in the pool. He was grinning like a million bucks.

What are you blessed with today?