Love Note from Liam's Primary Leader

I received this email last night.  I knew he did a great job at church, but to get it in writing meant so much to me. 

 

From:	Jennifer Tanner
Sent:	Sun 1/27/13 11:15 PM
To:	Gina Peterson (ihartpartly@hotmail.com)

Hey Gina,

I just wanted to send you a quick note about how awesome I think your boy is. Today in sharing time, we played a game where the kids drew word strip "choices" out of a bag, then we talked about what could happen as a result of those choices. We talked about scenarios like

·         "You break something really important to your mom, and then you hide it."

·         "Some friends are making fun of a kid at school, and you tell them to stop."

·         "You see someone drop their things on the ground, and you help pick them up."

I thought it was interesting that for most of the kids, their reasons for not doing bad things were usually to avoid getting in trouble, and their reasons for doing good things were usually to feel good about themselves. For Liam, though, his answers were the most empathetic of any of the kids -- out of both junior and senior Primary. In the various times he participated, he talked about the importance of being honest, and of the way your mom would feel if you were upfront with her versus if she found the broken item on her own. He also talked about how the other kid would feel better if you defended them, and how if you helped someone pick up their things they would feel grateful. To him, they seemed like such simple, obvious ideas. I'm so impressed with how mindful he always is of the way someone else might feel, even at an age where most kids tend to only be self-centered. You are raising such a great kid.

love, Jen

 

From:	Gina Peterson (ihartpartly@hotmail.com)
Sent:	Sun 1/27/13 11:09 PM
To:	Jennifer Tanner

Jen,

This email was so thoughtful and so tender of you to send. I am crying right now. Thank you for reaching out to me and helping me see how good he truly is. I know he's got a heart of gold, but I don't get to see a lot of his social interactions at school and church. I worry immensely about how he fosters his friendships and relationships outside of the home. I am told time and time again that ADHD kids have zero friends by the time they reach 3rd grade. These observations mean so much to me. I will worry less about this particular issue from now on.

Much much love and appreciation,
Gina

Happy New Year!

We didn't have any plans for New Year's Eve - we generally don't.  BUT Ian and I got itchy and tried to get a sitter at the last minute to no avail.  We ended up getting in the car as a family and going on a great goose chase for a Tepanyaki type of place.  After a lot of gallivanting around town, we found one that didn't have a line going out the door - the Bonsai Japanese Steakhouse.  Liam had his Ninjago sticker book in hand to keep him busy, but our chef ended up being one of THE most entertaining we've had. He did all the regular tricks AND made us laugh with all his great jokes!  We all had a great time! And the food was scrumptious - so perfectly yummy!

 Waiting for our grill table - only 5 minutes.

I had forgotten that Ian had ordered us some sky lanterns to send up into the sky for New Year's Eve.  We had ten in all, so I asked him if we should call the Williams family - our neighbors - to see if they would join in the fun.  Sure enough they were game and we had a great time freezing our fingers off and sending up wishes for the new year!  Such a grand sight.  Way better than fireworks!  A hearty thanks to Daddy for making it happen - he is so thoughtful and fun!

 

  

 Gavin, Preslie, and Liam

 

 
Aren't they beautiful?

Reading in bed

Ninjago pajamas, Ninjago chapter book. All is well in Liam's world.