more like doodle

I love my little doodle! (That's what I affectionately call my nephew.) He's all of three years old (and he will tell you, too), but he's managed to weasel his way into my heart FOREVER. I'm not complaining, though- I love the kid to death! If you've known me for any time at all, you've probably heard me talk about my little man with all kinds of glowing terms (all true, I should add).

For instance, he has finally arrived at the age that he can actually give a good hug- makes me melt everytime. He talks in complete and proper sentences. It cracks me up. If you ask him a question like "Would you like some milk?" he'll respond very matter of factly, "Yes I would. Yes I would like some milk." He's also one of the smartest little kids I know. The kid has beat every member of my family at Memory countless times- when we're TRYING! He is starting to read and recognize words... which consequently means we can't play the I-can't-say-it-so-I'll-spell-it game anymore. He's so eager to learn anything and everything.

More than all of these things though, I love his tender little heart. One of my favorite things to do is pick up Hunter from 2s & 3s at church. I love to see his face light up as he tells me everything he learned in Sunday School. He holds up his scribbled works of art and brags about how he colored them all by himself! It's funny how we prize a child's art work and praise it like it's the Sisteen Chapel ceiling. I'm his biggest enthusiast, though! :) But like I started to say, the little guy is such a tender chap. He's got this funny facination with Bibles- especially the pocket-sized editions. He sits down in a chair and leafs through the pages over and over again and mumbles to himself like he's reading. Or he'll beg anybody and everybody to read to him; he says "Will you read this to me?" To be fair, I'm sure he probably doesn't really understand what he holds or how it's different from Seuss's Hop on Pop... but it's still precious. It challenges me, though.... I want to have a stronger affection for that Little Black Book. I want to be more excited to tell people what I'm learning. I want to be more like my little doodle!

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these." - Matthew 19:14