Doggies in Heaven

Last night was a crazy night. Ben's cousins are in town and we had some miscommunication that resulted in me taking the kids home alone and getting them to bed late. I was feeling frustrated and the kids were both tired. By the time I was reading and singing to Ashtyn, my patience was worn and Ashtyn's behavior was showing that she felt it.

We read and were singing. I started singing "Mother, Tell Me a Story." She knows most of the lyrics and started singing along with me, but she was sort of crying while singing. I knew I didn't want to leave her like that, so I stopped singing and, inspired by the song I was singing to her, had her sit up and look at me.

"Ashtyn," I said, "did you know that you used to live in Heaven with Heavenly Father?"

She looked at me and her eyes grew wide. "Uh huh."

"And then he sent you to Mommy and Daddy. We're so lucky, aren't we?"

"Uh huh."

I talked with her some more about heaven and then I said, "And someday we will all get to go back to heaven and live with Heavenly Father again. You and me and Daddy and Parker!"

Her eyes got wide again and she went, "ah!"in an excited way. Then she said, "And the doggy will come!"

I laughed. "Do you think doggies will be there too?"

"Uh huh," she said, still excited. "The doggy will come!"

We sang a couple more songs, both much more relaxed and we were both happy when I put her in her crib. Stopping to talk like that was the best thing for both of us.

I am so grateful for the small moments like these that I have every day with both Ashtyn and Parker. I so blessed.