Wonderful Children

As readers of this site know, we own and are working to pay off a 20-acre parcel of land north of Elk River.  Our vision is to build a home on this land and have a hobby farm of sorts.  Ginger already refers to the land as "the farm" and--as the children are VERY attuned to all things "farm-like"--they get very excited when there is talk of "the farm".  Most of this stems from the experience they had over Christmas at their cousins' farm in Texas.

A few weeks ago, Ginger and I were going to meet with our builder to begin the process of planning a home design on "the farm".  Grace asked Ginger where we were going, and she responded that "Mommy and Daddy are going to meet with a special man to talk about building a house on our farm."  Grace replied:  "So that I can have a baby lamb?"  Ginger said:  "yes, so that you can have a baby lamb."  Grace then said:  "Because Jesus loves me and wants me to have a baby lamb on the farm".

A bit of further conversation exposed the fact that Ella also wants both a "baby lamb" AND a "baby sheep" on the farm, because Jesus loves them and wants them to have that experience.  We certainly agree!

On another day, I was rehashing this conversation with the children and confirming the girls' wishes of having sheep and lambs.  I asked Joel if he wanted a baby lamb or a baby sheep on the farm, and he said no.  I went through a list of farm animals (cow, goat, etc.) and asked him if he wanted one of those, and he said no.  Finally, he informed me:  "I want an elephant on the farm!"

The Boy LOVES his elephants.  He pronounces the work "elphunt".  He currently has three...his original blue elephant lovey blanket, a grey elephant that looks fairly life-like, and a Dumbo elephant which he got at Walmart (and he calls it Wally).

One day, I was reclined on the couch in the living room watching the kids while Ginger was at work.  Ella had decided that I was sick with the flu (I wasn't sick) and that I needed to be taken care of.  She bundled me in blankets, gave me her Lovies, tucked me in, made sure my feet were covered, patted my head, sang a song to me ("I am a Child of God"), and got me (pretend) water.  It was really sweet.  I actually had the thought that Ella would probably be just that attentive if she ever DID have to take care of either Ginger or me in our old age.

Joel then decided that he needed to make a contribution to my care.  He was on the opposite end of the couch with his elephants.  He said "I give you an elphunt, Daddy..."  He then selected the grey elephant and began walking towards me.  As he did so, he lifted the grey elephant in his hands as if presenting it to me and continued "...a BEAUTIFUL elphunt!"  My heart just melted.

They are such wonderful children and it is a joy to be their father.