Warning: This post contains lots of references to this post. Sorry if the lack of context bugs you. :)
Sometimes the "small talk" I forget comes back to me, especially late at night. While Lily was napping today, Evie was singing on the floor in the living room. Her mother is an avid maker-upper-of-songs and she seems to be picking up on this game. We sing "God is So Good" every night after her bedtime (or should I say T-O-N-6-O-9) Bible Study with Daddy. Sometimes we make up our own verses that relate to things God has done in her life or the life of our family. Sometimes we adapt it to be about other attributes of God (love, etc.). This afternoon she decided to try an attribute of God we hadn't covered before. This is how it came out:
"God is so strongful"
That put a big smile on my face for several reasons.
1) I love that she can take what she has learned about God and express it in her own little way. I want her to know that God is strong so that when life gets tough down the road, she knows that her God is able to do what she cannot.
2) I love that she makes up her own words to songs (and even her own songs at times - today I was treated to "The Bean Bag Song". She seemed a little surprised that I hadn't heard of it before.) I believe music is a very powerful teaching tool and so I sing to the girls all the time (it will be a sad day when they start to understand what good singing is supposed to sound like and request that I go back to doing math- hope we still live near her aunts when that happens!). Anyway, I love seeing her embracing music as well.
3) The making up of songs may come from mom, but the making up of words is all DADDY! For any of you who have spent any time in Journey (watch out Student Ministries) at some point in your life, you are aware that Danny averages about one non-word per lesson. Usually that word is an adjective/adverb with an extra suffix on it or the wrong suffix on it. Sometimes the word is a fusion of two real words, like inquizzical, probably my most favorite of all of them. It took a lot of work to convince him that this was not, in fact, a viable word. He never seems to think they are complete until he puts his finishing touches on them and, I must confess, his versions sound much mightier. I think one of his life mottos should be, "Good words deserve to be long words." It is one of my favorite of his quirks. It ranks right up there with his ability to identify fabrics down to the percentages without looking at the tag. Anyway, "Strongful" sounds like something her daddy would say, or at least approve of her saying and that makes it even more special.
Bonus: Evie has developed her own description for the current weather pattern. "Mom, it's sweaty out here."
Sometimes the "small talk" I forget comes back to me, especially late at night. While Lily was napping today, Evie was singing on the floor in the living room. Her mother is an avid maker-upper-of-songs and she seems to be picking up on this game. We sing "God is So Good" every night after her bedtime (or should I say T-O-N-6-O-9) Bible Study with Daddy. Sometimes we make up our own verses that relate to things God has done in her life or the life of our family. Sometimes we adapt it to be about other attributes of God (love, etc.). This afternoon she decided to try an attribute of God we hadn't covered before. This is how it came out:
"God is so strongful"
That put a big smile on my face for several reasons.
1) I love that she can take what she has learned about God and express it in her own little way. I want her to know that God is strong so that when life gets tough down the road, she knows that her God is able to do what she cannot.
2) I love that she makes up her own words to songs (and even her own songs at times - today I was treated to "The Bean Bag Song". She seemed a little surprised that I hadn't heard of it before.) I believe music is a very powerful teaching tool and so I sing to the girls all the time (it will be a sad day when they start to understand what good singing is supposed to sound like and request that I go back to doing math- hope we still live near her aunts when that happens!). Anyway, I love seeing her embracing music as well.
3) The making up of songs may come from mom, but the making up of words is all DADDY! For any of you who have spent any time in Journey (watch out Student Ministries) at some point in your life, you are aware that Danny averages about one non-word per lesson. Usually that word is an adjective/adverb with an extra suffix on it or the wrong suffix on it. Sometimes the word is a fusion of two real words, like inquizzical, probably my most favorite of all of them. It took a lot of work to convince him that this was not, in fact, a viable word. He never seems to think they are complete until he puts his finishing touches on them and, I must confess, his versions sound much mightier. I think one of his life mottos should be, "Good words deserve to be long words." It is one of my favorite of his quirks. It ranks right up there with his ability to identify fabrics down to the percentages without looking at the tag. Anyway, "Strongful" sounds like something her daddy would say, or at least approve of her saying and that makes it even more special.
Bonus: Evie has developed her own description for the current weather pattern. "Mom, it's sweaty out here."