Children have a way of saying the right things at the right times in such an innocent way that often catch me off guard. The following are a few of instances I have had with Kailyn over the last few weeks.
We were walking down a sandy path in Seaside, OR towards the beach. Kailyn had been crying and fussing because I would not let her go ahead with her auntie Elise. Instead I made her walk with me and Auntie Heather. Heather has an incredible artist eye for photography. She wanted Kailyn to sit on a swing down the path so she could take a picture of her with a sunset view behind her. (I will try to get a copy of the pictures up later). After our photo op, as we were walking towards the campfire and the rest of the family Kailyn said, "Mom, you know what that sunset reminds me of?" No Kailyn, tell me. "It is kind of like fire. You know like the story in the bible where the three men were put in the fire. The king put them in there. But later on there were 4 people in the fire because God sent an angel to protect them." I love that her little heart connects beautiful sunsets with a beautiful story of God's protection. I was able to finish out the story by reminding her why the men were thrown in the fire and how God honored their decision to stand firm and protected them.
Sometime in the car she will ask us to tell her a story. I often revert to "Once upon a time..." but she will stop me and say, "no mom, a real story, from the bible!". I challenge her to also tell me stories from the bible. She has a great memory. Her latest stories are about Jacob and Esau.
Kailyn was able to go to our church's VBS in late June. One of the activities the children participate in is sewing together a little stuffed animal. This year is was a little whale. The children have the option of keeping the whale or giving it to the church, who will then put it in crisis care kits that are sent to areas that need relief after tragedies. I did not push Kailyn in either direction. It was totally up to her. She wanted to keep it because last year she gave away the turtle she had made. I told her it was up to her. She sat through a couple songs as kids came to the front to put their whale on the stage. She was awful quiet so I knew she was thinking. She crawled into my lap and whispered that she wanted to put her whale in the pile. I asked her if she was sure and she said yes. She quietly walked down to the pile, added her whale, stood there for a minute, and then walked back to my lap and burst into tears. Fearing that she felt pushed by me in some way, I asked her if she wanted to get it back. She said no. I asked her why she was crying and she said she wanted to give it to the kids who needed it but she was still sad. It was a good reminder that sometimes doing what we know we should do, is not always the easiest thing to do. Another example of a sensitive heart, listening to God's leading.
Here she is singing and dancing during VBS!
Yesterday I had to tell Kailyn about Mimi's dog Molly. She was put to sleep about a week ago. If you know anything about Kailyn, she is a very sensitive little girl. I expected to get tears. Instead I got, "Well, where is she?" She has died. "Well, where is her body?" I honestly said I was not sure. Maybe she could ask Mimi. But instead of thinking about her body we should think about our good memories with Molly. She said, "I think Molly had some good years with Mimi and Papa after she was rescued from doggy prison (the Humane Society :). I think she was happy. Now I will just have to give Eddie (my parents other dog, a chiuaua) some extra love so he is not lonely." How sweet and sensitive she is. At the times when she is overly dramatic and seems to cry about everything, I need to remind myself that God gave her that sensitive heart and what a blessing it is.
That's all for now. I will try to be better about posting updates. Especially this summer because I really have no excuse. :)
