Precious Moments

I had some sugary-sweet moments with my children this evening.

The first was with Naiya. I was chatting with her during her bath tonight (she hates to be in there alone) and we were talking about her upcoming baptism and I helped her recognize her testimony. All of this led to her telling me some feelings she has.
She feels that she's not going to die as a child, but is going to grow up and get married and have children and all that. She said she doesn't know why, but she just feels that in her belly. She feels it will be a hard life, but it will be a good life and a loving life. She will be a good person and will give to the poor and help people. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ will be her best friends.
To be honest, I can't remember exactly everything she said. I was taken aback by her proclamation. She feels she will have "a hard life, but a good life"...what 7 year old thinks like that? No doubt this was the spirit of revelation whispering to my sweet daughter. I wish I could have recorded that moment, how sweet it was for her to understand that she had a testimony and to know a bit of what Heavenly Father has in store for her. That girl is good down to her toes, because she wants to be good. I can't wait to see the amazing woman she grows to become.

The second moment was with Calin. This boy isn't quite as eager to be good as his sister, but he is good nonetheless. I don't always do this, but I tucked him in tonight. I gave him a hug and he held on tight and told me he wouldn't let go. So I scootched him over and snuggled up next to him on the bed. We spent the next hour reminiscing about his childhood.
He remembered the houses we lived in and so many details about them and the schools he went to. He remembered being the strong man in his preschool circus when he was 4 and the weight bar we made with a stick, balloons, and duct tape. He remembered there being a TON of cookies afterward. He recalled the toy "mountain" they had for cars to play on and how he always wanted to play with it. He remembered Safety Town and all his old playgrounds, and family picnic day in 1st grade. The zoo, the nature center, our neighbor Helen's garden. He remembers trying to get out of his room in our French Creek home one day but getting so confused when he ended up in the closet instead. He recalls our trip to Niagara Falls and taking a VERY long walk after seeing it.
I shared with him some memories as well. About how he bleached the carpet in his bedroom with toilet bowl cleaner. I told him how crazy sweet old Helen actually was. I gave Calin a few tidbits from my own childhood. I told him how he is so much like me and how he gets his moody, mouthy ways from me. I confessed that I would sneak downstairs to rob the cookie jar when I was supposed to be cleaning my room with my sisters. That we would play ALL day with the toys we were supposed to be putting away, and then 20 minutes before time was up stuff them all in our closet or under our beds so the room looked clean.
As Calin and I talked and laughed, I got a chance to see our lives through his memories. I had forgotten about so many of the events that had come so easily to his mind. What a sweet boy Calin is. And how tender those moments are when he is so open. He is more often closed and hard to crack so during those rare instances that he lets me in so completely, I seize them and absorb them quite selfishly.
I love my sweet children and I thank God for lending them to me. They teach me so much and bring my life a fullness I couldn't have otherwise known. Mothering really is the best job on this planet and I have no idea why my life has been so blessed. I will probably never understand, but I will always be grateful.