Thanksgiving at the Leaders'

Hey Man, You are part of my greatest gratitude.

I am grateful for you, today. You are a young man full of questions and desires. What a great experience to take your own money and purchase your own supplies? Didn't you enjoy that? I enjoyed your showing me the pastels and the paper and the thoughts of what you plan to do with these items.

Your gifts and growth is awesome to me. I still think of you as a little guy, sometimes. That is wrong. You are breaking the barriers of younger and elder child conditions in our family and I love how you do that. I hear your challenges to your siblings on their realities. Is that right? is your common question. It may be right, but you intend to make it righter, if there is such a thing. That is the blessing that you are. That is the man that I hope that you remain from right to righter to rightest. God is purifying all of us. He is just and the justifier of those who come to Him. We come to Him, not to tell Him, but to ask Him. Wisdom and Grace and Redemption are from Him. Keep seeking Him and Keep growing, young man! I love you, Mommy.

Nurturing Brotherly Love? I told you my brothers' sad story for a purpose.

Why did you tell me that sad story? It seems like yesterday that my boy brothers were wrestling on the ground. Now they are separated by eternity, it seems. They will see each other again, I hope. I celebrated their births and nurtured their relationship some, in my early Christian pilgrimage. I was cast off from them, before they were fully ripe.

14 years old there was coal in the stocking of an angry young man and I reproved my father and mother deeply for this horrid vindication of their parental rightness. I don't think we should use Christmas for teaching such lessons. They were hurt and I couldn't know how much they were hurt. I still think you have other ways of disciplining a wayward son. He was very sad at the loss of elder sisters to College and Husbands and life. He was acting out. I would give him whatever money could buy to show the mercy of God to a son of mine. Poverty has kept me from pouring on you in such a way. God knows that our time is more valuable than any coal or diamond gift.

don't miss the greatness of being an older brother and a younger brother at the same time

Momma

It is already a week past your concert and I am still beaming!

You always sit in the same spot. I always try to catch an expression. You are stoic. That wasn't me squeaking, is your constant report to me. I don't care if it was, I am so proud to see you up on that stage, with your little whistle, I mean clarinet.:) It is really a dream come true for me. You are playing and growing into a man. Each concert is a treat for me. Your manly face is losing the childish gleam. Maturity is catching up with you and I am happy to have gotten to know you through these great days. I love you!!! Keep on whistling!