These are my grandchildren, Hadrian and Hannah. Are you surprised I’ve had the fortitude to wait until my fourth post before I’ve written about them? These beautiful children are five years old, born six weeks apart and I was there for both births.
Nearly every Saturday Hadrian and Hannah have a sleepover at our place. The tried and true routine begins with a trip to the park or pool in the afternoon. One Saturday we took the cousins to an outdoor pool where Hadrian spent most of his time using the water squirter that Fred got him to propel water thirty feet in the air. Hadrian loves all things mechanical. He loves elastics, coil door stoppers, and bubble machines.
At bedtime Fred brushed their teeth, and I read them stories on our bed with Hannah on one side of me and Hadrian on the other. Halfway through Hannah’s selection, Riverbank Rumpus, I stopped. “Hadrian, was that you?”
“P.U.,” said Hannah.
“Scuse me,” Hadrian said quietly.
While we read the book he chose, a book about trucks, I smelled another one.
“Hadrian, was that you, again?”
“Scuse me,” he confessed.
The third time it happened, I was reminded of the night his dad went into his bedroom to check on him before turning in. Hadrian was sound asleep, half on, half off his bed. As Jeremy got him comfortably settled a stinky odour arose followed by a “scuse me” from the boy still asleep.
After two stories from the Jesus Storybook Bible, it was time to tuck them into their own beds with kisses and prayers. First Hannah, then Hadrian. That’s when the fourth one silently erupted.
“Hadrian,” I said, “you are a farting machine.”
Both children laughed hysterically.
“I’m a farting machine,” Hadrian said and giggled with delight. “I’m a farting machine!” he repeated with wonder.
I praise you because
I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
–Psalm 139:14
“Intimacy” Used by permission Valerie Sjodin© http://www.valeriesjodin.com
When I e-mailed Valerie and asked her for permission to use her painting, she told me she painted Intimacy in a worship service with the theme of “Identity.” I love how God’s delight in us is seen in this painting, heard in Hadrian’s voice and captured in the writings of Sally Lloyd-Jones.
A teacher friend of mine Wilma Van der Leek, who was recently ordained in the Christian Reformed Church, introduced me to the writings of Sally Lloyd-Jones and the beautiful illustrations of Jago. I own both of these books and love them. They not only make my heart sing, they make me tear up at times when I read them to my grandchildren. My heart cries: “It’s true! It’s true!” Sally Lloyd-Jones explains theological concepts in simple language and helps children (and adults) understand what the Bible’s all about. She’s a great storyteller and always brings us back to God’s “Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love.”
Other Credits:
Photo of grandchildren by Fred Hizsa. Used with permission.
Images of books by Sally Lloyd Jones used with permission.
© Esther Hizsa, An Everyday Pilgrim 2013
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without permission from Esther Hizsa is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used provided there is a link to the original content and credit is given as follows: © Esther Hizsa, An Everyday Pilgrim 2013 http://www.estherhizsa.wordpress.com.
I will have to add this book to our collection for the boys! I guess with having three boys, a husband, and two (male) dogs that I don’t have to add a note on what our place “smells” like! Love this post. It made me laugh!
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What are the chances of our little guys not talking about their wonderful ability in church?
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Oh no, hahahaha. Very slim.
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