Monday, June 27, 2011

Father's Day

We had a fun Father's Day, except for the fact that Sally Sharp started throwing up that morning during breakfast :). Even though I teach Sunday School, being the sweet mom and wife that I am, I sent Drew and Avi off to church while I stayed home with the sick baby (she doesn't look sick in this picture does she?!). That's the best Father's Day gift I could have given him, right?! Drew and Avi enjoyed eating lunch together after church! Do you like Drew's tie in this picture? It was one of the 2 ties Avi & Sally Sharp gave to him for Father's Day. He also got a new blue shirt to go with his ties. Yes, I know that was such the typical gift, but he really needed them, and a practical gift is always good in my book!

I can't believe my little Avi is growing up so quickly. Every time I look at her these days, she just seems taller and taller. I want to stop time and keep her just as she is right now! She's got a very sweet soul. She was very worried about Sally Sharp while she was sick. It was wonderful to see her loving her sister so much.

She is also very intrigued and asks a lot of questions about God these days. Out of the blue on the way home Friday, she said, "Mommy, on my birthday, I'm gonna go to heaven." You can imagine my surprise when she said this. I was completely caught off guard. I said, "You are? I really want you to stay here with me!" She quickly responded with, "I want to go to heaven when you, me, Sally Sharp and daddy can all go." I told her that was a good idea. Then she asked if she could have a birthday in heaven. I told her I was sure she could have a birthday in heaven, and her response was, "Well who's gonna bring the presents?!" I told her I bet God would provide the presents :). Then we changed the subject for a few minutes. As I was getting her out of her car seat she said, "Mommy, does everybody go to heaven?" Again, you can imagine my surprise at this question and my mind racing wondering how I should answer this question to a 3-year-old. I decided to be honest (that's what God would want me to do, right?). I told her that not everyone went to heaven. She then asked, "Am I going to go to heaven?" I promptly put my face very close to hers and looked her in the eyes and told her that if she wanted to go to heaven that as she grew up (like we do now), she has to read her Bible and pray and trust that Jesus is her savior and have a relationship with God (let's face it, I don't think she's old enough to understand the concept of grace). She said, "Mommy, I want to do all those good things." My heart melted. I mean, I never thought I would ever be having a conversation like that with any 3-year-old, much less mine. Such a sweet, tender heart, and conversations like these make me understand more fully the importance of reading the Bible to our kids and talking openly and honestly with them about our Savior. She may not fully understand everything right now, but God is definitely planting seeds in her heart!

I'm not sure you can read this (click on it to make it larger), but this is what Avi brought home from Sunday School on Father's Day (thanks, Ms. Amy Fountain!). She was so proud of it, and we have it on the refrigerator! Drew thought it was so sweet and seemed pretty proud of it himself! I'm glad they didn't do this on Mother's Day! No telling what it would have said!