Once Around the Park

This is a guest post by Mr. Graff, because Icie left her account logged in.  Ha!

Eh, this post is all pictures she probably would have posted, anyway.

Our littlest one is walking in short bursts now.  I haven't seen him just stand on his own yet.  He's always walking--almost running-- or climbing and reaching for something.  I hear the other day he climbed all the way up on top of the computer table to play with cords.  I wasn't there for that, but have seen him climb for washcloths, papers, books, etc.

Those talents sure do come in handy at the playground.

A little walking and climbing and he thinks he owns the place.

A little walking and climbing, indeed. 

Ahem.

Someone taught Thing Two here to walk to an edge and then leap into someone's arms.  (Sounds like something I'd do, but THIS one wasn't me.)  Now we have to be extremely watchful every time he's near an edge.  Or stairs.  I think his record now is six steps.

When it was time to go home, we went back the same way we came: Mom, Dad, and Rae walked, and Joe and Caleb rode in the stroller.  This looks like a cute picture, but Rae was bawling and begging to ride in the stroller.  He was happy to walk to the park and do sprints around the playground, but couldn't bear the thought of walking the three blocks home.

Maybe he'll sleep well tonight.

And for something completely different, I have oranges!  There are quite a few orange trees growing at our church building, and we've been encouraged to pick as many as we want.  As many oranges as there were going bad on the ground, I didn't feel bad at all picking a bagful.  

These oranges are still green and yellow when they're ripe.  They're sweet, sour, a little bitter, and very juicy.  I love them and eat them two or three at a time.  I've even tried them on pizza, with black pepper and olive oil.  Mmmm…

It's another thing on that list of things that I like but Icie thinks is weird.  It's a pretty long list.

Oh, and this weekend was General Conference.  Three new apostles were ordained.  Even with the difference in time zones, we streamed all four sessions.  (Women's and Priesthood sessions were at the church building.)  We even got to listen to some of the talks between wrangling kids!  It was pretty nice.

Raeford and the Rameumptom

"Okay. But why?" 

I hear this question around half a dozen times a day. It goes something like this, 

"Raeford, please put your dishes on the counter," I say. 

"Okay, but why?" he asks. 

"Because we need to keep our house clean." 

"Why?"
"Because a clean house helps us to stay healthy."
"Why?"
"Because when we are dirty, it is easier to get sick."
"Why?"
"Just put your dishes on the counter!" 

In Rae's defense, he is usually already doing what I asked him to do. He just drags his feet with a long string of whys. I appreciate that he says "okay" and usually does what I ask. It the endless whys afterwards that become difficult. 

Remember the Rameumptom? The wicked Zoramites climb up on the Rameumptom, a one-person tower, and loudly and publicly pray atrociously self-serving prayers. Then "…they returned to their homes, never speaking of their God again until they had assembled themselves together again to the [Rameumptom]…" (my emphasis, Alma 31: 23)

I frequently have the line "never speaking of their God again" run through my brain. I wonder often if I am just as guilty of not talking about my God, except when I go to church. I want to teach my kids that God applies to everyday situations, so I happened on this solution: Because Jesus wants us to. 

So, back to the first example:

"Raeford, please put your dishes on the counter," I say.

"Okay, but why?" he asks. 

"Because we need to keep our house clean." 

"Why?" 

"Because Jesus wants us to be clean."

Done.

This resonates with Rae and stops his string of whys. Why don't we hit our brothers? Because Jesus wants us to be good. Why do we go to church? Because we love Jesus. Really, it works for just about everything. And it is so simple that Rae can understand it. 

So, now, the "Okay, but why?" isn't so hard for me. And I love when Rae looks at me with his big blue-gray eyes and asks, "Because Jesus wants me to be good?" 

Yes, sweetheart. It is because Jesus wants you to be good. And as I think about the answers that I give Rae, I feel the truth of what I am saying. We really do go to church because we love Jesus. We really do want to be good and clean because we want to be like Jesus. 

Why didn't I think of that before?