What a Wonderful World

I've been trying to pay more attention to the good examples of the children in my life lately. I loved this talk from General Conference, "Become as a Little Child," by Jean Stevens about recognizing the Christ-like attributes of children and I have noticed that being around children, whether it's little baby Darwin or our almost-in-the-double-digits-in-age neice, makes me want to do and be better. They help me to look at things with a positive perspective and they cheer my heart with one smile, one giggle, one hug, one kiss. It makes me wonder at their power to so simply and easily lift me and others that I've observed. Everytime I go to the grocery store, Darwin always makes at least one person smile with his baby antics.

A few weeks ago I was at the Church Distribution Center and there was a LONG wait. I think one person had been waiting over half and hour by the time I got there and she was not happy about it. And who could blame her? She probably had an appointment to get to and groceries to buy and kids to pick up from school, all within two hours. The mood in the room was heavy and even angry, but Darwin knew what to do. One by one, he picked off the customers in line with his gummy grin and within five minutes the atmosphere had completely changed. We were still waiting, and I did end up waiting for over half and hour, as well, but I was surprised at how much happier the waiting room seemed to be with Darwin in it. Maybe I'm imagining it all, but I hope not and I don't think I am. It's not just Darwin, either; I think children have that ability to help others be happy. Our nephew sure has made us smile with his rendition of "What a Wonderful World" lately. I have some secret footage of him singing it at lunch a while back. About halfway through, I left the room to put Darwin down for a nap and he just keeps on singing. My favorite lines of his are "I see friends shaking hands saying, 'How do you do?' I. Love. You."

We tried to make Argentine empanadas for Toe Jam. Does anyone know where to get the tapas? It's killing our vibe, man. This is our third unsuccessful try at making them and it's because of the dough. It's always dry and thick. Anyway, it was fun to try together. Michael helped me at first until his nephew asked him to play, and who can deny that cute face? They were playing and Michael started singing the first song that came to mind--"99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall." Ha. Nice. It's a counting song, so it's educational, right? Anyway, I suggested they could do "My Bonnie" with the whole stand up, sit down on the "B's." The little tyke loved it and was cracking up the whole time! It was awesome. How nice to be so easily pleased!

Another cute moment with that kid was when I was working on the empanadas in the kitchen alone while he and Michael were sitting on the front porch (getting some fresh, cool air after the "My Bonnie" workout). He came in and asked, "Mita, are you alright?" What a sweetheart! And that wasn't all. He returned and asked it again every 30 seconds or so for about five minutes. Maybe it was because his Uncle Michael had come to check in on me a few times prior, leaving the nephew alone on the front porch for a few seconds (which felt like forever to our nephew) at a time, and so he took matters into his own hands and came to "check on Mita" so that he didn't have to sit alone. Or maybe he just really loves me. I like that explanation best. :) What a cutie!

Rolling the dough for empanadas.

Helpin' a cousin out (giving Darwin his binky).

Just a recent trip to the park and Darwin's first time down a slide. I asked Michael, "What's he doing?" and he says Darwin didn't really seem to notice anything special about going down the slide. Ha. :) Soon enough.

From Sis. Stevens' talk: "Elder M. Russell Ballard has taught us the importance of the Savior’s admonition to “behold your little ones” when he said: “Notice that He didn’t say ‘glance at them’ or ‘casually observe them’ or ‘occasionally take a look in their general direction.’ He said to behold them. To me that means that we should embrace them with our eyes and with our hearts; we should see and appreciate them for who they really are: spirit children of our Heavenly Father, with divine attributes” (“Behold Your Little Ones,” Tambuli, Oct. 1994, 40; emphasis added; “Great Shall Be the Peace of Thy Children,” Ensign, Apr. 1994, 59)."