Childhood Magic

The other night, Don and I put the kids to bed and Elle asked if I would lay by her for a minute. We laid there in the dark and talked about her day-- what her favorite thing she did was, something nice she did that day for someone else and something that made her laugh. Elle said that one thing that made her laugh was when she pulled her own tooth out. It was so loose and had been dangling in her mouth for a few days but she insisted that she wanted to be the one to pull it out and she did!

Then, of course we got talking about the tooth fairy. This is a major topic of discussion at our house right now, with Elle losing teeth left and right. She asked if I had ever seen the tooth fairy and I said I hadn't. Then she went on to say that one of her friends doesn't believe in anything but the tooth fairy. I said "What? That's silly! What about Santa Claus?" Then Elle said, "Well, she does believe in Santa Claus too. But that's it! She doesn't believe in 'Lucy the Leprechaun' or the Easter Bunny. She thinks the Easter Bunny is just someone dressed up in a bunny suit!" At this point, I started to panic a little bit, because I can't bear the thought of Elle not "believing" yet. I know it is bound to happen someday soon, but I am not looking forward to when she finds out the "truth" and the magic is gone. Then Elle said the cutest thing! She said, "And guess what else mom? She doesn't even believe that we are princesses! I told her that we are all princesses and princes because we are all children of God. I told her to just ask her mom and dad because they will tell her." She said it so "matter-of-factly" that I knew she believed it. I couldn't help but smile and be grateful that Elle knows who she is and who we all are. I just hope Elle can always hold on to that very important truth!

So later that night, I was telling Don what Elle said. We were laying in bed talking and saying, how we always do, that our kids are getting too big and that we just want them to stay little forever. I don't want them to grow up and move away. I already miss them when I think about it...

Then we sort of laughed and said that there is the possibility that Jayne won't move away. We might get to keep her with us. We hope and pray everyday that Jayne will be really high functioning and will be able to do everything that she wants to do, just like our other children. But, if for some reason she is not able to live on her own, at least that means that we get to spend more time with her. Then Don and I both smiled to think that Jayne may not have to lose that "magic" that children have and maybe that isn't a bad thing. She might still believe in Santa Claus when she is 15 and, in some ways, that is pretty lucky! We could all use a little more magic in our lives...

Some of my favorite moments this week...

Elle reading to Jayne and Easton

Jayne's new favorite thing is playing Peek-a-boo. If I am holding her facing me, she takes her blanket, covers my face, and then slowly uncovers it and gets so excited when I say "Peek-a-boo!" It is the cutest thing!

Finally, a snow storm to make a snow man

Sisters

Silly little kids wearing silly hats