From the mouths of babes

There are times when my children say things that make me cringe and wonder if I'm doomed to a life of embarrassment. An example of this is fresh in my mind. A couple of our neighbors stopped by last week on their walk around the neighborhood and as we were standing on the porch talking, Alec started rubbing at his boy parts. I asked him, quietly, if he needed to use the bathroom. He answered in his I-do-not-have-a-quiet-voice, "NO! My PENIS is just ITCHING!" Nice... uh-huh.

But the past few days have been sweet in their rewards. In the car the other day we were talking about Christmas (I know... a bit early for that). But Zach surprised me when he said, "Mommy, I wonder if Jesus is getting excited." I asked why. His response: "Well, his birthday is coming up pretty soon! I bet he's getting excited about it." Wow, you mean my seemingly materialistic 7-year-old actually realizes that Christmas is more than just presents?! Amazing, and gratifying.

Yesterday Alec called to me from the living room, again in his I-do-not-have-a-quiet-voice. "MOMMY!" I reminded him about quiet voices before asking what he needed. "Nuthin, Mommy. I was just thinkin'. Baby cow statues are false gods."

Silence. Crickets chirping...dogs barking...my mind reeeeeeling. And then it dawned on me. The night before we had read our pre-bedtime Bible story and had discussed false gods. Wow, that sleepy little 3-year-old who'd been rubbing his eyes and yawning had actually been listening?! Amazing and incredibly gratifying.

Today I asked Zachary what he'd done in Bible Hour. His answer, "Have you heard the one about the preacher dude and the tax man?" My first reaction was: Is he about to tell me a joke about two guys walking into a bar? But no, he told me, in his very insightful language, that he'd learned that we should pray unselfishly and that we should not brag just to try to get people to be impressed with us. Not bad, not bad.

From their mouths come both the good and the bad and, occasionally, the ugly -- but I don't care to dwell on those moments. I would much rather dwell on Jesus's birthday, baby calf statues, and that preacher dude and a tax man.