Should I Be Worried?

The first plans Ben ever shared about his future were these:

Cut down trees,
use them to build a house,
and a couch,
marry some woman who will work all day
while he lays around on the couch.

The next plans he shared were these:

Find a deserted island.
Become king (aka, DICTATOR)
Build up armies in case of attack.
Make lots of laws.

Then he decided to:

Become a movie director,
So he could boss people around
and yell at them.

And, his current plan?

Be a worker
at a store
like Albertson's.

A Rare Peek at the Elusive Ben

So, why don't I write about Ben much lately? Is he boring? No. Is he in Italy as a foreign exchange student? No. Is he less entertaining than Brianna? No. Is he almost nine, and likely to read anything I write about him? YES. I'm always afraid that I'll cross some line in his mind by sharing things that he does or says with all of you.

But, today I'll risk it with one quick story.

On Valentine's night, when he really should have been in bed, he came down to me with a Valentine in one hand and his scriptures in the other. The Valentine was a religious one from a girl in his class. On the front, it said, "God made us friends." And on the back it had the scripture 1 John 4:16.

"Can you help me look up this scripture, mom? I didn't really look through my Valentines before, just got all of the candy. But I just saw this one, and I want to read that verse."

"Sure, honey." So, together we looked up the verse. 1 John 4:16, "God is love".

"Huh. I didn't know that was in the scriptures," he said.

"Yep." I said.

Then, as he's headed back up the stairs, "I didn't know Ch***** (the girl who gave him the Valentine) was Mormon!"

"Oh, she's probably not. She's probably Christian, but not Mormon."

"Ya, I think you're right. Probably Christian, not Mormon, because it said 'God MADE us friends' and God doesn't MAKE us do stuff. He lets us choose."

My Point Exactly

Brianna: Everyone loves Valentine's, right?

Me: Well, no. Some people feel sad on Valentine's.

Brianna: Why?!

Me: Well, Valentine's Day is about feeling happy about love, and some people feel sad because they don't think anybody loves them. (Sensing an opportunity to teach a lesson.) But there is always somebody who loves us, right?

Brianna: Yes! Q****!


Brianna and Q! BFF

Have YOU been to China?

Out of the blue today in the car, Brianna says: China. ... I've been to China.

Me (who had just been forced to turn right out of a parking lot that I wanted to turn left out of): Hmm.

Brianna: Ya, I went to China when I was a baby with Jesus. Ben did too. We all held hands and walked to China.

More and more we are finding out about Brianna's history before birth, and some things that we should have been aware of after birth, such as her little walk to China. It's nice that she can open up about these things.

*******

Another time, Brianna was sitting on the couch looking at a book quietly, when I hear her murmur in frustration: I can't hear the words in my head!!

She thought that she should be able to read to herself; that by opening the book and sitting quietly, she would hear the words in her head. That's what it must look like to her when the rest of us are reading to ourselves. :)