Shepherds and Superheroes

1. Shepherds

This last Monday for family night, Dallin was in charge of the lesson.  He used the Friend Magazine to choose his lesson topic, which was about how Jesus is like a Shepherd, and we are like the sheep.  And how Jesus looks for the lost sheep (us) and wants them to be with him so they can be safe and happy.  We also talked about what it meant to "feed his sheep," and how if we love Jesus then we will help him find and feed his sheep.

Then for the activity we played hide 'n' seek.  (Although not intentional, it tied in very nicely with the lesson topic.)  I thought I was being pretty clever to hide next to the black entertainment center, since I was wearing a black shirt that day.  I figured it was like camouflage.  But as Dallin came into the family room he looked around the corner at me completely unsurprised and said, "What-up Mom.  I knew where you were because of your black bump."  Guess I'm really starting to stick out.

2. Super Hero

Today I took Sean in to get the last shot he needs before school, and as is our tradition, if the immunized person is brave, we get ice cream at McDonald's.  And since Sean didn't even whimper, he talked me into letting them play on the McDonald's playground.  I don't like those playgrounds because they are all those tunnels you crawl through and it's impossible to get your kid out if they choose not to come down.

Well, Hayden crawled in before I'd even paid for the ice cream, so when I got in there, I heard him crying desperately because he'd gotten stuck somewhere, and didn't know how to get down.  So Sean was a very good brother, and went to find him and help him come down.  I loved seeing how patient Sean was with Hayden as he led him out of the play structure.  Hayden's cheeks were tear-streaked when he finally emerged from the slide, but his smile just lit up his face when he realized he'd made it out!  I told Sean what a good brother he was to rescue Hayden from being stuck.  And Sean said, "I was like a super hero, Mom, because that's what superheroes do--they rescue people!"

And so we see that Shepherds and Super Heroes have a lot in common.  They rescue people (and sheep) who are lost or stuck or scared or who've wandered somewhere on their own and wish they hadn't.  (Sean was MY super hero today too, because if I'd have gone in after Hayden, there's no saying if I could actually fit back out.)

3.  Lastly, on an unrelated topic, Sean made me smile the other day when he YELLED to Hayden, "HAYDEN, IF YOU DON'T STOP YELLING, THE SPIRIT WILL GO AWAY FROM OUR HOUSE!!!"  Although he was kind of missing the point, I'm glad that he remembers some of the little "life lessons" we talk about throughout our days.  I guess sometimes they really are listening even when it seems like they aren't.