The Family Notebook

For the last several weeks....months almost....Trey has been working on this project. He asked me for information on my and Joe's parents; he asked for our three favorite family recipes; he began writing sentences about Joe and me and about Daniel. I knew he was putting these things together for something for school, but I didn't know what the end result would be. Today, he came home with the finished product and it is beautiful.

What struck me more than anything else was his creation of a Family Crest. This is how he described it:

My family crest has a lot of symbols that mean a lot of things. I put a cross on the crest because of our Christianity and the church. There are music notes on there because I've taken piano lessons for four straight years. Everyone in my family is in the choir except for my dad. I put a little bit of white on the crest because of our very pure family. The yellow on the cross stands for intellect. We have a very smart and united family. The family crest tells over 1,000 things about our family.

I could only smile as I read this. As a mom of four very opinionated, stubborn, willful, bright, amazing children, I see a lot of things. I see Daniel---our quiet, easygoing, nonplussed eldest child. Very little rattles him. I see Trey---our instigating, talented wonder of a second son. He believes he can accomplish just about anything. I see Joshua---our often misunderstood, most sentimental and physically loving child. He is our most strong-willed and the most difficult to parent. He is the one who could do just about anything if he only believed he could. I see Julia---our princess. Our sassy diva of an only daughter, who has the world by the tail and most everyone wrapped around her little finger. I see my two middle children arguing with each other more than with anyone else. I see my oldest block the world out as he reads his extra time away. I see my little girl wishing she had more little girls to play with her.

I think---How I wish I could do a better job. I say to myself---If only I'd done that differently. But as I read Trey's description of our family crest, I can only thank the Lord for four children who bring me more joy than I could have ever imagined. Where I feel frustration about the children arguing, Trey sees a family united. Where I see the mistakes I've made, Trey sees purity. When I think I'm forcing Trey to play piano, he includes music notes. When I wonder if my kids will have the same kind of love for my Lord that I do, Trey includes a cross.

Thank you, Father for this reminder to view life through the eyes of my children.