Savoring the Season

Dear Reader,

This time of year seems to move at an incredibly fast pace. I always hope to capture more moments in writing to look back and remember this season well. Some of the highlights of my last week included evening drives to look at Christmas lights with my husband and son while listening to fun music of the season, making Christmas cookies with my son (and watching him make some with his grandma), listening to the elementary school kids at our church lead us in carols, receiving Christmas cards from friends and family (LOVE going to the mailbox this time of year!) and helping my son wrap the gift he picked out for his daddy for Christmas. Great week.

And now I look ahead to another week filled with enjoyable activities, and I consider with gratitude the festive moments that meet us at this time of year. I hope this week is a great one for you as well.

Sincerely,
Abi

Occupations

Dear Reader,

I worked in a HR before beginning motherhood, and perhaps for that reason I can't resist asking my four year old boy about what jobs he thinks he would enjoy when he grows up. I don't ask this question daily, but maybe monthly.

Early in the summer his response was a skateboarder. I didn't react much as I wondered if the conversation was actually just to ask for a skateboard, and I'm not ready for him to try that out quite yet.

This last week I asked the question once again. Quickly my son responded by saying that he would like to be a firefighter and a baseball player. He will be busy if that is the case! I asked why he's interested in each of these jobs. He said that a firefighter helps people, and he would love to use the big hoses to put out the fire. And then he suggested that he would like to be a baseball player because he's "a really good pitcher." (No confidence issues here.) He quickly qualified this statement though and said that he's better at pitching on the Wii than outside.

I'll keep you posted on this evolution of ideas as I hope to make certain to document his thoughts along the way.

Sincerely,

Abi

Sidewalk Chalk

Dear Reader,

I am woefully behind on writing and promise to catch up soon! This evening my husband witnessed a priceless exchange between our almost four year old son and his friend from next door who is four.

Our son has a set of very thick, large pieces of chalk that his aunt and uncle gave to him as a birthday gift last year. Our son and his friend were playing with the chalk on our driveway and sidewalk this evening. Our boy all of sudden decided to throw one of the pieces of chalk on the sidewalk and smashed it in half. My husband came over and questioned him on why he broke the chalk. Our son's response, "I wanted to break that chalk in two so my friend and I could both have one. I wanted to share my piece of chalk with him." My husband then suggested that he go ahead and share the chalk.

Our son walked over to his friend who immediately says, "Cool! How did you do that?" To which our dear boy began giving instructions for smashing them in two.

Trying to be a good buddy + breaking things = perfect activity (from our soon-to-be four year old's perspective.)

Sincerely,
Abi

Coins Revisited

Dear Reader,

My son has so enjoyed the activity of sorting coins that he has become quite accustomed to using our coin jar for his purposes.

This past week, he came to me with a handful of coins and asked for a bag. I responded by providing a bag and wondered what he hoped to purchase. He suggested that we bring the bag to church in order to pay for all of the bagel bites he eats there on Sunday mornings. Not quite an offering, but very nice that he wants to cover his costs.

We had one of our dear friends over for pizza, and my son left the table first while my husband and I lingered to have conversation with our friend. Our son returned with a few coins for our friend. He then said to our friend, "Here's a little money for you if you would like it."

My son has also pulled out coins for our family. He brought some coins to me one morning and said, "Maybe you want these for all of the things you buy for me." His words melted my heart.

I'm not sure that he understands that the coin jar is not an unlimited resource, but I'm so glad to see him use it generously.

Sincerely,
Abi