"Dad, will you check on me?"

I don't know why it started, but one day it did. Dg8 just started showing up in the bedroom after he had gone to bed.

"Dad I'm scared."
"What's wrong?"
"I don't know.  I just feel so lonely.  I love you so much."
"Well I love you too.  And we're here and your fine so go to bed."
"Will you check on me?"
"Yes."
"Will you check on me a lot?"
"Yes Dg8 now go to bed."

Everynight he would ask me.  "Will you check on me?"  "Yes."  "But will you check on me a lot?"  "Yes buddy, now go to bed."  Sometimes he would come down crying.  I told him he didn't have to wait until he was so distraught he was crying.  He could just come down.  He accepted the offer and began to come downstairs looking sad.  Occassionally, he would bring his beddings and sleep on the floor at the foot of our bed.

Over time this evolved.  We tried praying, which he says helps and he is now doing everynight.  We tried breathing in and breathing out and just focusing on breathing.  After awhile we tried to tap into his positive imagination.  All attempts had limited effect.  He eventually started to ask me to pray with him each night when I went to check on him.  And finally, he wanted to make sure I wasn't going to be asleep before him.
I almost never go to sleep before Dg8, but one night after the process began I did and he reminds me of it everynight.  "Dad, will you check on me?"  "Yes."  "Will you check on me a lot?"  "Yes.  Tons."  "Will you pray with me if I'm awake when you come up?"  "Yes, of course."  "Are you going to go to sleep before me?"  "No, I never do Dg8."  "You did that one night."   Uggghhh.

At times it was ridiculous.  On our vacation we passed through Missouri.  My Grandfather called it "Misery" when he was alive.  He hated to drive through "Misery."  We got a hotel after midnight one night.  I was beat.  The room had double queen beds.  We put GM1s pack and play between the beds.  I lay down with my hand over the bed so GM1 had something to hold and to comfort him, though the room was fairly lit.  Dg8 lay on the side closest to me and while staring at me, two feet away he said it all again.  "Dad, will you check on me?"

He hasn't been down in our room in quite some time.  And every time I check on him now he's asleep, though he never fails to ask the questions.  For awhile I was frustrated, but I think everyone needs the same kinds of comfort Dg8 is asking for.  We need to know someone is there and that they're checking on us.  And sometimes we need to know their checking on us a lot and that we won't be alone.

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis

When I was a boy I would look out my 2nd floor window over the pines the rich people planted to keep the courts private from us next door.  I looked into the court where anonymous people played at night in their white shorts, polo shirts and sweatbands.  The lights didn't go out until 10pm and during the summer my windows would be open.  I could hear the crickets and the thwack of the ball.  Thwack-thud-thwack-thud.

I always thought the girls, on the other side of the upstairs, got a raw deal.  I don't remember them ever having a tough time sleeping, but I did.  When no one was playing I would sneak down the stairs, placing my boy's feet carefully around the creaking boards.  When the t.v. was in the right spot I might watch with immunity for quite awhile.  When the t.v. was in the wrong place I could sit very safely and listen.  At some point I would wake up and stagger to my bed.

A Conference

dg8's teacher is Mrs. M.  Yesterday I went for a parent teacher conference where Mrs. M. reviewed a beginning of the year reading and math assessment.  It shakes out like this:
Reading: Accuracy @ 95% which just means he accurately identifies 95% of the words he reads.  Words per minute comes in @ 46.  The theory is that this can impact his comprehension score which is 7 out of 10.  Apparently, the slower you read and the longer it takes to get through a sentence, the more you forget by the time you get to the end of that sentence.   Reading with feeling is 3 out of 3...excellent.  This puts him at a reading level N...3rd grade reading level.  The takeaway?  Focus on words per minute and the payoff is greater comprehension.

I explained that dg8 seems much improved since the beginning of the year.  We expected him to read over the summer, which he did; the Magic Tree house series.  It didn't seem like he'd improved much, but since school started he is reading everything.  Nothing can be spelled in front of him any longer.  He's sharper and more insightful.  The teacher agrees.

Today she performed her own assessment.  The results are that dg8 has more than doubled his words per minute to 101.  He's doing great and his assessments are another data point showing us what we already know, he's bright.  We just have to keep him working.

Oh yeah, he's pretty good at math too.  Watch, he'll end up doing something mathy.

A Child's Prayer

wg6 has begun to give thanks for gravity during prayers.  I mean really, who doesn't appreciate gravity.  Think of what it makes possible.  What a kid.

Fire Truck Beds

NH bought a firetruck bed for dg when he was moving from the crib to a bed.  It was $50 and we bought it a few streets over at a yard sale in our neighborhood.  The bed was read in, bad guys were vanquished there and little ones even managed to squeeze under the thing for hide-and-seek.  It would be safe to say the boys loved the bed.  Heck, we all loved the bed.

Enter gm1.  He's in a crib, but it was very important for NH to have THE bed that worked for the other boys.  The search began.  After lots of time on Craig's list and lots of bartering and a long drive an identical bed was found and brought home. I gave NH a hard time for going to such great lengths over this little bed, but as I look at these pictures and remember I see now that she was right to want the same special memories for gm1 we all had with the other boys.  Here is gm1.  I don't think there is any question that he will love it as much as his brothers.

It's like a roller coaster, only more holy.

Today was our annual Primary Program.  dg8 had a pretty big part and some lines, but woke up with pretty serious stomach pains and I stayed home with him.  NH took wg6 and I'm told the program went well.  wg6 took his turn at the podium, "I went to the Gila Valley Temple.  It was like being on a rollercoaster, only more holy."

We carved pumpkins today.  I might say I don't enjoy it.  I'm a curmudgeon about Halloween in general if you want to know the truth.  But the kids love it and so does their Mom and I love them.  I try to dial down the curmudgeoniness.

This morning wg6 walked me outside as I left for work.  This is unusual.  I said I love you and waved.  He said he loved me and waved.  It made me feel wonderful.  Then on the way home from lunch I received a wonderful e-mail from NH.  I feel loved.

Here is wg6 opening bday presents.  He loves the bathrobe is mom got him.  He's a wonderful boy.

Baptism Birthday

He's been excited for a few months about his "baptism birthday." I was very excited for his baptism as well. Grandma Margie and Grandpa Greg came and so did his big sister and Christer. He remarked how warm the water was. He seemed very excited.

KM20 asked me how it felt to baptize my first child. I said, "I won't be having that privilege today." She looked confused briefly and then understood I was referring to her. Dg8 over heard a conversation between KM20 and his mother in which KM said to her, "Well, one down and two to go." NH explained that there were three to go. When we got home Dg8 explained that there were 3 baptisms to go and not two, that she needed to be baptized also.

I felt the spirit with us on the day of Dg's baptism and I believe the blessing of heaven were with us. It brings me great joy to see this wonderful boy choose to do what is right. I hope that he always may be so wise and strive to be like Jesus.

GML0

Last October little GML was born. He's coming up on one. He standing, he's happy, we love him very much. Behold the boy.