Saturday, March 20, 2010

flowers, learning, and growing

A couple of weeks ago I cleaned out the front flower beds and planted some pansies. Yes, I am aware that pansies are cool weather plants and we're headed into warm weather. They were 75% off, and I am terrible at keeping plants alive. So, better to try something cheap then blow a lot of money on something that I'll kill. Anyway, the pansies are thriving quite nicely. I even remembered to water them today. Shocker!

As I watered the pansies, Hudson watched from his view from my hip. We were both still in our pajamas, so I didn't want to put him down on the sidewalk in just his sock feet. I love that Hudson has learned his sign for the word flower. He crinkles up his nose and sniffs. It's really cute. Most days when we walk out the front door, he bends over with his little bottom up in the air and proceeds to sniff the flowers. I enjoy watching him do it every time. I think I'm even a little disappointed if he doesn't. So I guess being a stay-at-home mom has encouraged me to "Take time to smell the flowers." Bad joke, I know.

It's so amazing to watch children learn. They're like little sponges just waiting to absorb whatever is surrounding them. I loved these sponge/light bulb moments as a teacher, and obviously as a parent these moments are even more thrilling. Today when Hudson and I were looking at one of his picture books I asked him, "Where's the flower?" He in response signed, "Where?" and then his eyes scoured the page. His little hand reached up and tapped the picture of the flower. He's done this before, but it was such a blissful moment for me as mom/teacher. I could ask him about several objects, and he could identify them all. Well, at least until he got bored with that page and needed to move on. That's okay, though. I enjoyed it while it lasted.

We had several "growing up" moments today. I told him that we needed to wash hands before he ate lunch. We walked back to the bathroom, his little hand in mine. He dipped his own spoon into his container of applesauce at lunch. He can go look for his shoes when I've told him to get them so he can go outside. He talks to me all the time, even though I have no idea what language he's speaking. (I think the language is derived from the letter d, though.) He's truly a little toddler now, not a baby. What a precious gift and great responsibility, to experience life with a moldable human being.

That child-rasing responsibility can be scary and overwhelming sometimes. Kyle and I pray that Hudson will grow to love God's Word. As I study the book of John is BSF I am reminded over and over again that if you love God, then you'll love and obey His Word. But how can I love and obey His Word if I don't spend time studying it? And how can I expect my son to love God's Word unless he sees it reflected in my own life? Yes, Hudson is a precious gift because he brings us joy. But he also has been a part of the awakening for the need for abundant Scripture in my own life.

So, hopefully we'll have many more days like today. Days where I see learning happening. Days where I see my son growing up. Days where my son causes me to reflect on glorifying God in my own life. I love being home with Hudson. It's absolutely worth it.

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