A Child's Prayer

This weekend we celebrated Molly's 4th birthday. This was the first year we invited her friends, as in all honesty, this is the first year she's really had many friends since she only just started daycare in August.  I knew it would be a lot of work (not to mention a bit expensive), cleaning house, organizing decorations, food, etc, and boy was it. It was also a lot of fun. The joy in Molly's eyes as her friends began to arrive, as they played "Just Dance" on the Wii, enjoyed cake and ice cream and, of course, the gifts was priceless.


By the time everyone left last night to say I was exhausted would be an understatement. My muscles were sore (most likely from the yard work I did the day before in preparation for the party) and my body was completely worn out. I was ready for bed at 7:00!  However, tonight at bed time Molly showed her appreciation in such a special way that it brought tears to my eyes.


I went and curled up on the bed with all 4 kids and read some books. One of them, "What Happens When I Pray" is a great book that discusses prayer on a child's level. When we were finished with the book I said a prayer and the kids decided they also would like to pray. When it was Molly's turn her prayer was very simple, "Dear God, Thank you so much for my Mom. She is the best Mom ever and I love her so, so, so very much. Thank you for her. Amen."


I just cried. Abby even leaned over and hugged me then hugged Molly. I placed my hands on Molly's sweet little face, looked her in the eyes and simply said, "Thank you". Wow. I was so incredibly moved. What a great end to the weekend and an amazing reminder to me that though it may be hard work, the time spent with our kids is so special and dear to them. It wasn't the decorations or the clean house that meant the most to Molly, it was the time we all spent together.  I have learned in the past 6 months to make every moment with the kids count.  It has definitely been a mutually beneficial experience. I look forward to continuing to make those memories and make that precious time together count.  I thank God every day for the amazing kids he has blessed me and trusted me with..