I Would Have Missed...

If I had not been here today, this is what I would have missed:

~ the discussion I wrote about in the previous post, about the horseshoe nail and Noah's obedience and the importance of the little things
~ Josiah stumbling around with David's clothes hamper over his head after throwing the dirty clothes down our laundry chute
~ Josiah's sadness that when he grows up and moves away, I'll miss him...his solution? Daddy and David and I should come with him :)
~ David trying to climb on Josiah's back for a horsey ride...and Josiah being gentle with him
~ Josiah teaching David to say "Ring around the rosies" as they marched around our magnolia trees and then collapsed in a laughing heap at the end of the rhyme
~ a mid-morning break to run down the hill to see Grandma at her clothesline and prune our magnolias
~ a LENGTHY conversation about Cain and Abel, including, but not limited to, the questions...1. why did God not like Cain's offering?...2. why didn't God raise Abel from the dead?...3. did Cain mean to kill Abel, or was it an accident?...4. did Abel do something to Cain that made him mad?...as well as much talk about sin in our hearts, anger building up inside us, the role of confession, and God's forgiveness
~ after we read a book about Cain and Abel, Josiah's question, "Mommy, can we read this book again?"
~ a piano lesson in which Josiah learned the outstanding pieces, "A Bear's Song" and "A Mouse's Melody"
~ Josiah and David's friendliness as they waved to someone driving up our neighbor's lane on a tractor
~ many opportunities for me to make kissing sounds as Josiah practiced writing "m" and "n" and "o" (when he starts below or above a line, then goes to that line with his pencil before moving away from the line again, we call it "kissing the line"...for example, writing the humps for "m" and "n")
~ seeing Josiah fine-tune his negotiating skills as he asked his brother to trade the kings (chess pieces) David was holding for...nothing! Josiah had nothing in his hand to trade with David. (Um, Josiah, it might be more effective if you go and get some other pieces that David might actually be interested in, and then ask him to trade! Just a suggestion...) So Josiah trotted off, got the bishops, and then made a successful trade with David.
~ Josiah's request for some snuggle time on the couch after he woke up this morning
~ David's habit of blowing Josiah a kiss as we go to David's room for naptime

Ah, I'm so glad I was here today!!!