Just An Update

This blog is dedicated to writing down all the things that I know 10 years from now I am going to say, "Why didn't I write that down?" It's what has been happening in our lives recently.

I'll start with Keely. Although 6 and sometimes saying things that sound like she is 12, she is still a Mama's little girl seen in the picture to the right falling asleep in my lap at a Clemson game. But she is also growing up reading well beyond kindergarten. She loves school and is excited about starting first grade at Doug's school next fall. Keely is eager to learn and always asks questions like while reading Strawberry Shortcake: "Why is Strawberry Shortcake always so nice? Does she ever sin?" It turned into a theological discussion that ended with Keely, Macey, and Kres praying for Jesus to live in their hearts. Keely had done this in the past but she didn't remember and wanted to do it again. We talked about what being a Christian means and

emphasized Jesus' selflessness and how we are to do the same. Keely did this perfectly when we explained why we didn't trick or treat and how it wasn't a Christian holiday. Her response was to take all the candy she had gotten from the church Fall Festival go sit on the front porch and pass it out to the kids in the neighborhood to tell them about Jesus.

Macey is such a different little person. She loves to imagine and loves living in her pretend world. She becomes whomever her favorite character is at the time. For instance, we saw the Nutcracker over Christmas and now she signs her name "Marie." She loves dressing up. When the three girls got our nails done, she loved the attention and the primping and ended the time with, "Can we do this again soon?"

But she is a deep thinker. You can't just tell her something and have her accept it. She wants to explain to her why it is that way. For instance, we had a conversations about the fits she loves to pitch. I have been battling them since she was 18 months. So finally, I decided to have a serious discussion over why she could no longer act this way. When I explained what she was doing (being selfish and making Jesus sad) and how she should express her feelings, she asked all kinds of questions about sin and forgiveness. We read through the Easter story in deep detail. And all of the sudden, it was like it clicked. The fits have decreased tremendously. She helps out more than ever. She and I can talk and relate in a new way.

And now I am too tired to get to the boys so I will continue it at another time. But at their ages their biggest achievements are more physical. Wes is finally walking at 15 months though I am convinced he could have sooner but was too lazy. And Kres can throw a football or shoot a basketball with pretty good accuracy (not to mention pitching fits).