Spencer the Great

With the events of the last couple of weeks (www.caringbridge.org/visit/benjaminswapp)
I have gained a new appreciation for my oldest soccer playing, swim team splashing, lego and star wars loving child. I should have known he would have more than the normal gumption because heaven pulled out all the stops to get him here. (One of these days I will write that up and post it here)

Last Tuesday night as we were preparing for his younger brother's MRI the next day, Spencer decided to fast with Tom and I that all would go well during the testing process and in meeting with the Dr. He sat up in the kitchen late that night to eat a last bowl of cereal with his little brother before the fast began and he brought up an armful of his favorite stuffed animals so Ben could take one to the hospital to keep him company. This is huge, Spencer is not known for his ability to share his toys, especially the beloved stuffed menagerie he sleeps with nightly.

I'm sure Ben recognized this great act of love because the little stuffed alligator he chose stayed glued to his side throughout the day - it even got to go into the MRI since it didn't have any metal parts!

The next morning Spencer hopped out of bed without a fuss. On fast Sundays we usually endure much grumbling and moaning of hungry tummies and all, but not this day. He even had a smile on his face and helped me get out the door. He helped in Ben's classroom that morning even though Ben wasn't there and he rushed home from school to see him. He and September's first question when they rushed in the door was "Ben, how are you?" "Are you okay?" -

The next day, life was back to normal with the usual grumbling and moaning, which, to their credit is pretty cool too. It wasn't very long ago that we would pay for a day at the hospital with Ben for days afterward, but these kids are learning to roll with the punches, rise to the occassion, then get back in the game.

It took me a few days to see all this for what it was - like a lot of people, my perspective is enhanced while looking in the rear view mirror of life (it would be nice if it were that way when I was backing up the car as well - but we'll save that for a different day) and the last few days I have fine tuned my heart with a whole lot of gratitude that a loving Father in Heaven knew exactly which one of these kiddos needed to come to our family first.

Theodorable

Lately I have found myself really grateful for this cute little kiddo.

Maybe because it was about this time of year nearly 5 years ago I found myself crying at the drop of the hat every time I paused to think about the fact that before the summer was out I would have 4 kids 5 years and under.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that we had just picked up and moved our 3 little kids all the way across the country to live with my parents while we tried to figure out why were supposed to be back in this place we now call home and hadn't factored in another baby only 18 months after the last one.

It could have been the hormones . . .

But now, when that cherub comes blowing into the kitchen or family room or laundry room shouting "mom, mom, mom . . . I love you" and throws his arms around me like he hasn't seen me in weeks -
or he spontaneously takes a break from his pals and latest "bad guy hunt" to say "Mom, I like you" - I can't help but thank my Heavenly Father for sending that little guy our way.

Tom loves it when Theo runs through the kitchen or office and yells "hey, Dad" just to get Tom to look over long enough for Theo to give him a big smile and head on his way. The older kids all fight for his attention, because he loves them just as much.

He is a giant part of the reason that Ben can speak and socialize and function at all. Theo hasn't ever let Ben's hang ups get in the way of playing together. He can go from Legos with Spencer to rainbows and ponies with September and on to blasters and airplanes with Ben inside of an afternoon several times - often playing with all of them at once. He's like super glue for our family.

None of us can imagine our little family without him - another reason I am glad I wasn't in charge of that decision - all I could see when I stared at that positive pregnancy test was stress when, in fact, it was a giant dose of God's love - The Adore.

Today

I consider myself quite patriotic. I love this country and have great faith in the amazing document we call our Constitution. I vote, I write letters (okay, emails) and make calls to my elected officials voicing my support and my concerns on many issues. I take my citizenship in this country seriously and gratefully.
With that being said, my current full-time position - motherhood has given me an entirely different perspective on today's events. My kids teachers have been a bit excited about the inauguration of President Elect Obama today which has extended itself into the homework arena. My Fourth-grader especially, as his most recent writing assignment was to explain the significance of MLK Day and the inauguration of Obama the following day. As he and I have spent the last few days struggling to write the paper I began to realize that the true significance of these events is that to our rising generation, they aren't significant at all. It is truly no big deal to my kids that the new President is African American - and why should it be? We spend an awful amount of energy trying to teach our children that they can be anything they want to be - and so can all of their friends, no matter the color.
It seems counterintuitive to make such a big deal about it now - to point out to this wonderful rising generation that the color of someone's skin is so important. . . . don't get me wrong, it's a pretty cool deal, but aren't there more important things going on?
I can't count on one hand the number of friends who are out of work, who are fighting terrible illnesses, who worry each day how they will get through tomorrow . . . somehow the color of Mr Obama's skin just isn't as important to me as what's inside that skin is - and how it will affect the future of all the people I know and love - hopefully in a few years we can celebrate that.