Bu-tee-ful Butterflies and Give Me Grace

So, every year our church gets caterpillars. You get these in honor or memory of a loved one. You watch them make their cocoon and eventually hatch into a beautiful butterfly. The butterfly part is supposed to come right around Easter weekend. Then on Easter Sunday, our entire congregation goes out on the steps of our church and releases our butterflies. Just as Christ dies and rises. These caterpillars seem dead, then emerge from their cocoons to go forth into the world. It is a wonderful way to teach our children about Christ's resurrection. 

Well, we got 4 caterpillars this year, honoring the boys, Mary Flynn, and my mom and her husband Charles, who do so much to help us. Well, last night, Reed starting screaming,"Mama, come in here--HURRY!" Our first butterfly was flitting around in its box and he and Luke were beside themselves. Rob and I are hoping/praying it will live 2 weeks in its temporary home (which is a corsage box) until we release him on Easter Sunday morning. Be it natural causes or the curiosity of two little boys, 

we may need to have an early release to guarantee his survival!! 

Luke keeps saying, "It's a bu-tee-ful butterfly," "Mommy, see the bu-tee-ful butterfly!" He never just says butterfly, it's always "bu-tee-ful" butterfly. 

I am touched each time our children say a prayer or bless our food. Luke said the blessing last night with his own prayer, repeating, "Thank you God so much, thank you God so much, thank you God so much, thank you God so much, AMEN!" Simple and sweet! I am going to remember that one for sure!! And he also (which is so so sweet) loves to keep everyone "safe" in his prayers. He will name every person he knows individually saying, "keep mommy and daddy safe, keep baby sister safe, keep "fill in the blank" safe." I am loving hearing them pray -- it sometimes brings tears to my eyes hearing their prayers -- I see them learning more about God and seeing Him in their respective "worlds" each day.

And speaking of children and prayer, a sweet sweet friend of our family, Gloria Mason, gave Mary Flynn a prayer book for children called, Give Me Grace. I started reading this book to Reed and Luke each night right before bed and if for some reason I forget, I am very quickly reminded. They are short prayers for each day like this:

Saturday in the early morn

make me thankful I was born

Give my spirit peace within

let each day with hope begin.

Reed has started to recite some lines by memory. Luke just says what Reed says (then follows with his list of "Keeping ____ safe). My hope is that they will memorize each day and can teach them to Mary Flynn once she is old enough, and remember them for the rest of their lives.