Two quick stories I don't want to forget...

Last Saturday, our cat...named Kitty, how clever...snuck in the house and headed straight under the futon hoping not to be noticed.  A cat going unnoticed in this house full of kids would be like a mouse going unnoticed in a room full of cats...not gonna happen!  But anyway, this time, all of the kids were outside except for Susanna (2).  I pretended I didn't notice the cat, wanting to wait until one of my big kids came in so they could crawl under and get him.  As I was going about my business in the kitchen I began to hear some kind of conversation going on in the living room.  Curious, I peeked my head around the corner and saw the cutest thing...Susie was halfway under the couch...Kitty's paws playfully batting her...while she "read" a story to him, her little fingers carefully following each line of the book and turning pages frequently.  Her story didn't quite match up with the author's intent, however...in her story every page said something to the effect of "Kitty, no bite my (her way to say "me")...No, no bite, Kitty...No, Kitty, no scratch my, no bite my"...page after page, the same story.  So sweet!!!

Secondly, on Sunday David was wonderful enough to make a way for me and the 3 youngest to stay at my parent's house in town after church and take a nap while he took the 2 oldest back to our house to get some things done before a church picnic.  Just as they were leaving, a storm looked about to erupt.  As Joshua (5) and I laid down to take a nap, I heard him...ever so faintly...say "Dear Jesus..."  I couldn't quite make out the rest of the prayer...I waited until he was finished and then opened my eyes and asked him if he had been praying.  He said, "Yes, I asked Jesus to please help Daddy and David and Julia to be safe and not to get hit by lightening."  WOW...I'm soooo glad I didn't miss that!  Hearing kids pray at meal time or at family devotion time is special, but there is an element of routine to those prayers...but to hear my 5-year-old pray to Jesus unprompted was so incredible to me...the faith of a child...he didn't tell me he was nervous about them leaving in a storm, he went ahead and took it to the One that can calm the seas...and the storms.  "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you" .