Puzzle update

Keeping last night's blog post in mind, I wanted to give an update...

I put the puzzle away and went to bed. James didn't get up until long after Matthew had already yanked me out of bed at 5:55 AM. We just played together until the other kids got up and then I started making breakfast. Destructive disaster and/or learning experience averted.

As I fell asleep last night, I remembered a few golden moments with James over the last few days. I don't want to give you guys the impression that he's a stinker all the time. The truth is, he can be a pest, but in the context of these golden moments, I understand the pestiferousness isn't everything, and I get the sense it's all temporary...a coping mechanism.

Golden moment #1
James had a pretend microphone and he was singing songs into it. Mathew heard "Heavenly Father" in one of the songs and repeated it, looking at James with a smile. Then James cracked a smile and whispered a prayer into Matthew's ear, a little at a time, so Matthew could repeat it into the microphone. It was a game, and they were both laughing about it.

Golden Moment #2
James and Matthew sitting together on the back patio, flipping through a toy catalog and dreaming of the possibilities.

Golden Moment #3
James and Matthew were playing on the school playground while we waited to pick up a neighbor (Alice and Robert had an afterschool thing to go to). James was a model caretaker of Matthew: shepherding him to the toys he likes, helping him up ladders, brushing him off after a tumble, running excitedly over to me to tell me about Matthew's most recent climbing accomplishment.

It appears these golden moments don't involve either of his older siblings. Hmmm. That's something to examine closer.