This morning young J got out the stick horses...he has three of them. He gave them all names, and rode them through the house...so cute. He asked us if we wanted to pet *Little Billy*...."of course" we said. He gets out a brush and brushes their manes. He shows us just how fast they will go...

Then he asked Daddy if he wanted to ride *Lucky*.

"Well, of course...", Daddy says.

So he puts on this big production of getting *up* on this stick horse. He starts riding him kinda slow, and he says, "I'm a big load for this little horse, so he's taking it kinda slow." Then he pretended that it bucked a little and took off flying. He ran down the hallway..or galloped I guess. He's talking to the horse and about the horse all the way.

Then he came back through the kitchen and then the living room, and on into our room. He made a turn and took a pit stop in the bathroom where we hear him calling out, "Woah, Lucky, no drinking out of the potty!" We were roaring with laughter. It was so hilarious!!

As he came out of our bedroom, he pretended that the horse bucked him off...and gave him back to Young J. So J takes off doing some of the same stuff. He was laughing so hard, and making up all sorts of stuff. Just lots of fun...

Now, if young J had asked *me* I would probably have said, "NO...take those silly horses back to your room." *sigh*...My boys don't know how thankful they should be for having a *fun dad*. He makes me want to be a *fun mom*...he makes me want to ride a stick horse, or put on a *suit of armor* made out of old hub caps, or carry a sword made of a wooden tobacco stick, or swing on a grape vine in the woods. He makes me want to have fun...and not be so serious all the time.

I have really been working hard to encourage my children. I have been very negative with them, and very stern...and I can see huge evidence of that in my oldest. He's very much like me (though I think a great deal of it is just due to his personality).

I don't just want to encourage my children in their work/school/kindness, but also in their play...and imagination. They are only little for a short time, and they should enjoy being little as much as possible. They'll have plenty of time for *growing up* when they are grown up. All work and no play makes for very sad little children...and I want my children to have fun memories of ME just like they will their Daddy.

I want *pushing them away* to NOT be my first reaction...thinking I'm too busy to spend time, or even talk (or better yet listen) to my children. I want to really *know* them, and I want them to really know me.