David, my buddy

David has always been my little energizer bunny. With energy to boot, a "let's get this party started" attitude and a vivid imagination, it's never a dull moment! While I'm cooking dinner, I often find myself standing in the dark, as I hear a "Let's have a dark party!" proclaimed by a little boy running around turning off lights. In church last week, the bishop asked the kids why Jesus created the earth for us. While other kids were saying stuff like "He loves us", David proclaimed very seriously that Jesus made the earth so we didn't have to live in outer space! Many of the teachers tell me they look forward to what David will say each week. He's not trying to be funny, he really believes this stuff he thinks up! A classic example was when we went to dinner at my sister, Rose, and her new husband's house. When asked why he was doing something, David launched into a very serious conversation with my new brother in law. David explained the details of what needs to be done to avoid detection by aliens. We had a real laugh and thanked David for looking out for us!

However, during times that are supposed to be quiet (prayer, scripture time, nightly stories, home teacher visits, FHE...) it can be pull your hair out kind of crazy. I've learned to stay calm, but I'm still hoping David doesn't grow up to associate church stuff with timeouts. Needless to say, getting David to listen and remember any lessons taught has been a challenge.

Then one day, David recited something to me that we had talked about nearly a year before, while on a walk. I started noticing that he remembered everything, nearly word for word, that we discussed while DOing something one on one. So David and I started trying to have one on one time regularly. When it's sunny, we go on walks. When it's rainy, we bake stuff. I'm not perfect at doing it all the time. But it's really helped things. He remembers what we talk about and even obeys better at other times.

I love moments like that! When God shows you how to be a more effective Mother! And what a blessing it is to have such great kids... I sure love them! My aunt babysat the kids yesterday morning. She told me that Lucy got hurt and so she was giving her hugs. David watched silently, then piped up. He said, "You know, I like loves from grown ups, too."

We like to give you loves too, David!