"Mommy, Tell Me a Story"

Usually Grandma is the one that the kids beg to hear stories from.  Grandma's stories are magical.  She paints pictures with her words, and the kids eat it up!  Night-time story-telling with Grandma has become a special tradition and memories-in-the-making for Johnathan and Tenleigh.  Johnathan is usually a paleontologist digging up dinosaur bones in our backyard, or raising his own pet dinosaur.  Tenleigh's stories usually involve unicorns, sparkles, rainbows, and princess tales.  (I have a hunch Tenleigh is quite the co-narrator with Grandma, and tells her what to include in her tales!) ;)

But last night I had the privilege of being asked to make up and tell a story.

"Mommy, tell me a story", Tenleigh said as we snuggled.

"Oohh I like that. Good idea."

"Tell me a story about Baby Opia."

Oh my heart.

I often wonder what it is that triggers my sweet 6 year old and 4 year old to start asking about, and thinking about, Baby Opia.  Ryan and I really don't spend a lot of time talking about Baby Opia or the adoption.  The process and timeframe is just so difficult for the kids to understand.  But we do pray about him or her every night at bedtime, and it seems as though different things spark their little hearts.  Tenleigh will find a toy and decide that she's going to give it to Baby Opia.  Or today when I was reading a folktale from Africa to my Kinders, Johnathan chimed in about our adoption.  Again.  It's sometimes hard to tell what exactly they understand about this whole deal.  But what I DO know, is that their hearts are very sincere and sweet, and they are R--E-A-D-Y for another sibling! :)

And speaking of READY -- I am more than ready for summer!! Ready to be with my sweet loves at home, walking or riding bikes to the park, playing with bubbles and sand toys, going to "Grandpa's Lake", and watching their T-Ball games.  I wonder if this will be our last summer as a family of 4!?  We kinda think so, and so have been planning some sort of simple, yet special family get-away during the summer some time.  Maybe camping??  That's totally Ryan's cup of tea, but not so much mine. :)  I'm willing to try most anything, but not so sure I'll be good at the whole adventure of roughing it! ;)  I must say that I do love my toilets, beds above ground, and clean water.

Probably will be many stories that I'll be able to share with the kids -- or rather, they'll be sharing about me (!) once our camping get-away has come and gone. :)