The Good, the pure, and the lovely

Little man turned two today.  My baby . . . . sigh.  Where does the time go?  It seems just yesterday that we welcomed him into this world.  Today two, tomorrow twenty-two.  For now, here are some special memories from this last year.  Happy Birthday, my sweet boy!

Long before the "I can do it myself!" that comes during the two's and threes, comes the "Can I help you, please?" of the ones.  Yes, the ones.  It is amazing to me, that every one of my boys has wanted to "help" by the time they could walk.  They like to help sort laundry.  They like to sweep the floor with me.  They like to dust and push the mop around and . . . . . the list goes on. Yes, it usually ends up making more work for Mommy.  It takes more time but, it's worth it.  The kids learn to be helpful.  They learn that they are able to contribute and that their efforts are appreciated.  I know the teen years are coming (all too soon, if you ask me).  They might not be so eager to pitch in later, so I am cherishing these blessed years now. Big Brother looks on as Little Man takes his turn sweeping.  Little Man loves to get a turn pushing that machine!

Recently, I have been thinking about serving others.  A friend just mentioned to me the other day that she saw a need to get her children involved in community service projects.  That resonated with me.  I took what she said to heart, and when I saw a notice in our church bulletin about a "Valentine's Day Cookie Drive" for our United States Service Men and Women, I jumped at the chance. When I brought the subject up with the boys, they grew excited.  "Mom, we just made cards for them in our Sunday School class.  We can make cookies, too?!?!"  What a blessing.  They have already been talking about this in Sunday School, and now we get to continue at home.  When Friday rolled around, we "rolled out" the cookie dough.  It was so much fun to work on this project together.  The boys were thrilled to be doing something for someone else.  Even Little Man got into the spirit when he helped carry the cookies to the car. Watching the boys as they worked to b