Mommy's treasure

I spend a lot of my day disciplining my kids. I have three babies under 5 so it just sort of comes with the territory. It's really easy as a stay at home mom of 3 rambunctious kiddos to focus on the negative. It's easy for me to get overwhelmed by how many times my kids did the wrong thing....i too often forget when then do the RIGHT thing.

So, I am taking a second to reflect and celebrate. I am stopping to publicly declare that my kids are awesome! They are spirited, energetic, spunky, fun, hilarious, loud, boisterous, friendly, opinionated, active, full-of-life, smart, kind, helpful, sweet, and so much more.

I was brought to this moment of sweet reflection today by a tremendous act of generousity from my oldest, Kaleb. He is normally the one I have the most "wrongs" to remember about, but today God used this little fellow to remind me that some of the very things that get under my skin about his behavior are the very things I love most about him too.

In preschool, the kids get to pick a prize from the treasure box on Fridays if they have been good all week. It is not unusual for them to come home with a piece of gum, parachute man, or a bouncy ball (which for the record....I hate when they pick bouncy balls!). Lately, Kaleb has searched the treasure box and come home with some "wonderful" piece of plastic jewelry for me. I have loved these pieces of jewelry because they respresent to me sacrifice, generousity, and true love. Kaleb only gets one treasure....and he gives it up for me.

Today was even better, though. As we got in the car to head to school Kaleb had a beaming smile and a devilish look in his eye. He declared that at the end of the day he was going to have a wonderful surprise for me. I had a pretty good idea about what it was. I was anticipating another pink or purple ring that I could add to my collection. Much to my surprise, though, it was not a ring. You can see here the treasure I got today...



Kaleb came running out of his room to show me what he picked from the treasure box. As he handed it to me he whispered in my ear, "I saw this in the box earlier and I knew it would be beautiful on you. It's an ice cream charm. Do you want to wear it?"

I can't even type this right now whithout tearing up. My sweet little four year old worked so hard obeying all the rules (which is kind of a challenge for him...he doesn't like to be still) so that he could win this treasure for me. When he saw something beautiful it made him think of me. What in the world could make your heart soar higher than that?

Sure, it clearly has a sticker claiming that it cost .97. But, to me, it is priceless. My son paid a high price for this....and it is truly a treasure. So, Kaleb, the answer is "yes. Yes, I want to wear it!"