Visions of Innocence

Every great once in a while, I have flashbacks to yesteryear. A time when my boy-men would be laying on their tummy, making vroom-vroom noises while pushing there trucks and tractors around. A time when my littlest man would dance around and make everyone laugh. Or a time when my biggest little man would play dressup with the superheros costumes, but were always way too big for them.

Last night was one of those times.

"Mr. Cartwright" and I were (once again) redoing the budget for the Ponderosa. Trying to be wise as the grocery bill just seems to rise. Trying to pull bills from one source to compensate for another. This is a never ending task. But in the middle of it all, our boys come in. They plopped down on the bed and floor. They ask questions about our bills. They look at each other and make each other laugh. My youngest big man does a few jigs...the dancing hasn't changed, as you can see.

No anger. No arguing. No electronics. Just the four of us.

So much has gone on in the last five years. So much has been taken away in relationships and innocence. But last night was a breath of fresh air. I could even see in their faces those cute little baby faces from 16 years ago. Yes, instead of getting on the floor playing army men, shooting off lego bombs to knock each other's forts over,  we were discussing electricity bills. Instead of watching Little Bear we were talking about hunting for meat for the freezer. And in place of lincoln logs it was cash envelopes.

Our boys are growing up so quickly.

We praise God in the midst of craziness and culture wars, we still have nights like these.