From the mouths of babes: Downs Christmas letter

Here are some highlights from 2008...

Funniest:After repeated attempts to get Zach to stop picking his nose, I finally ask him, “Why do you keep picking your nose?” He replies, “Because my brain keeps telling my finger to go in there.”

Displaying the most cultural sensitivity (“When in Rome…”)We are looking at horses in a pasture during a visit to my parent’s house. After a few minutes Zach asks, “How come none of the horses are saying, 'Ney'?” Jake responds, “We have to get to know them better first. And we should try to speak their language to them.” Then he goes up to the horses and starts to say, “Ney, Ney.”

The “Be careful what you say, it will come back to haunt you…” prize:I am always lecturing the boys about other less fortunate kids who have far less than we do, especially when they are complaining about something silly. I usually say, “Find a real problem before you complain to me.” One day Will is complaining and I hear Jake say, “Will, that’s not a real problem, find a real problem!”


Most literal (#1, #2, #3):Zach is sick and needs a syringe of medicine. I try to give him a dose but realize I didn’t get any in the syringe so nothing comes out when I put it in his mouth and dispense the syringe. Zach looks puzzled when nothing goes into his mouth and asks, “Hey, is that air medicine?”

Zach comes up to me when I am reading a book and asks me what I’m doing. I tell him I’m reading a book. He responds, “How come I can’t hear you if you are reading?” I tell him I’m reading it to myself in my mind. He leans in close to my head and puts his ear next to mine, listening carefully. Finally he says, “Yes, I think I can hear something in there!”

We saw the movie “Bolt” as a family, which is animated with a voiceover by Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana). After the movie, Will tells me that it was Hannah M. doing the voice of the girl in the movie. This was clearly stunning to Jake whose eyes got big as saucers at this news. You could see the wheels turning in his brain as he tried to figure out how they made her voice come out of the little girl in the movie. Finally he asks, “Wait, was she in the theater standing behind the screen?”

Most astute (and sad) observation:Jake: “I’ve noticed that little girls and little boys and grown-up boys are all fast, but usually grown-up moms are slow.”

Heavenly impressions:The boys understand generally what Dad does for a living and we’ve also explained that the reason Dad has to work is to make money to live. One day Will asks me, “Mom, are there going to be battles in heaven?” (No) “So, no wars in heaven?” (No) “How about money, will we need money to live?” (No) “Yeah, Daddy won’t have to work in heaven!”

Zach is having a hard time with separation because of missing mom. One day when I come to pick him up he is surprisingly OK and tells me it is because “While you were gone I hugged you in my heart.” I ask him how he got the idea to do that. “God told me to do it.”

During a discussion of how God made everything in the world, Will offers, “I know how God made Hisself. He was in heaven and he said, ‘Let there be me’ and poof, there was He.”

Sweetest:Zach knows I’ve been sad about him getting bigger and turning 4. I always tell him that I want him to stay 3. He says one day, “When I get taller do you miss my small?” Finally, the big 4th birthday arrives. He tells me, “Cheer up mommy, it’s gonna be lots of fun. And I promise I’ll give you the biggest piece of birthday cake.”

Most appalling behavior by a mother in front of her children:It was a long fall, full of volunteering and cooking for various events on base, particularly things related to Mike’s squadron. After a particularly grueling week where I’d baked 6 dozen cookies, among many other things, Mike tells me on a Sunday afternoon that there is another event on Monday and asks if I can send something in for lunch for the squadron. We are all in the car, and in a moment of weakness (thinking I am more or less muttering to myself), I respond, “Sure, I don’t have anything else to do. It’ll be just like every other day that I’m cooking for the stupid squadron.” (I know, I know, it’s terrible!) I hear gasping from all three of my boys in the back seat. Will says, “Mom, Santa can hear you!” Jake says, “Mom, you should never call anything stupid and you should enjoy doing things for Dad!” Zach says, “Mommy, you’re going to get a lump of coal in your stocking!” So, I felt very reassured that my boys are learning to have the proper perspective on things, if not because of me, at least in spite of me! And if anyone from the 303rd is reading this, please forgive me!

The "Thank you Brits for not dumbing-down Thomas the Tank Engine" prize:

Zach, whose whole life revolves around Thomas the Tank Engine can often be caught saying things that he hasn't picked up from us. Thanks like, "I got myself into a right pickle." To his brother: "You're an impertinant scaliwag." Or, "We've got to do it straight away." He uses "nearly" rather than "almost" as in "I nearly bumped into the table." He's always remarking on whether things are done "properly" (OK, this he might have gotten from me!).

Most heart-wrenching:I’ve told the twins how I lost five babies who are in heaven because they didn’t live to be born. They know they are adopted. A few days after I explained about the babies we had lost, Will says, “I’ve been thinking about it mommy and it’s really good that we were born in another lady’s tummy. We might have died if we were in your tummy. This way we got to be born in her tummy but still get to have you as a mom.”

Sadly, I didn't actually send the letters this year, I hope to get to it, but it will obviously be an New Year's letter, if it happens at all. So, this blog post is my closest approximation of a Merry Christmas greeting. Here goes, "Merry Christmas!" We pray for God's blessings on you and your family across the globe now and throughout the coming year.