Out of the mouths of babes...

After spending a good fifteen minutes in the car discussing the meaning of Christmas, we had a little debriefing at the end.
Cale:  "Mommy, but why do we celebrate Jesus?"
Me:  "Because we love him."
Cale:  "Why?"
Me:  "Because he died to save us."
Cale:  "To save us?"
Me:  "Yes."
Cale:  "Like save us from being stuck in the mud?"

Um....sure.  I mean, Jesus could definitely get you out of the mud, but I don't think he always works in ways that are that obvious.  Unless he sends along a tow truck at just the right moment, driven by a benevolent do gooder.
We spend a lot of time (in short bursts) trying to impress on these babies of ours the meaning of Jesus in our lives....sometimes they crack us up with their funny, literal comments on the subject, and other times they come up with some pretty deep, philosophical stuff.
Tonight at Alamo Cafe, we threw coins into the fountain and made a wish (like we always do).  In the past, the wishes ranged from things like "cookies" to "my purse"....but tonight after throwing in their coins I asked Cale what he wished for, and he said "For the families", and I knew right away what he was talking about.  He is so empathetic, and hearing about families that don't have anywhere to live or enough food to eat seems to really bother him.  On his own, he was worried about those families....yippee!  All my jabbering might finally be doing some good....

 This is an OLD picture of my tiny guy...I don't even think he was walking yet in this picture....I love how little he looks!  I hoped then that he would turn out to be sensitive and kind...and he is.  Yesterday I bought a "job chart" of sorts...a visual aid to help them in working on little tasks.  One of Cale's "jobs" for the week is "Being Respectful".  He is taking his little jobs VERY seriously.  Today I called to him, and he really, REALLY wanted to run back to the playground, but I saw him make a very conscious decision to turn back towards me and walk my direction.  It melted my heart....especially when later, he asked me if he was doing a good job of "being respectable"....I love this age!