My ongoing series of things I want to remember at this stage of parenthood:

• My kids like to copy each other. Which is highly annoying and not necessarily something worth remembering. But what’s funny is Jackson’s response to his brother and sister: “Stop cappy-cotting me!” Classic. And pretty cute. And I only use the word cute like twice a year. So there you go.
• Tonight, we found out Sadie (our dog) likes sweet tea. I left my drink on a coaster beside the chair only to find Sadie neck deep in tea when I returned. Abby Kate looked at me and shrugged and said, “Well, puppies will be puppies.” Wise proverbs from an eight-year old.
• Abby Kate is also our deep thinker. The other day we had some storms move through that were strong enough to set off the tornado sirens. Having lived through the storms of April 2011, my kids are highly skittish of inclement weather. As we were talking about this storm, she asked Sunny, “Momma, do weathermen pray?” I love how she interprets even these dark storm clouds through the lens of faith. May it always be so in her life.
• Speaking of prayer, the kids are diligent in their prayers for their grandfather. PawPaw was diagnosed with ALS exactly one year ago, and these past 12 months have been difficult. But one of the things I’ll always treasure is the simple yet faithful prayers my children have offered up on behalf of their granddad. Countless times they’ve reminded their classmates and fellow students to pray for him during their morning chapel time. Not a meal goes by that they don’t pray that PawPaw and Nana are having a good day. The Bible talks about the faith of a child. My kids teach me more about that every day.