Every day I put our three year old boy to bed. He knows about when bedtime is, and he starts wanting to do all kinds of things. He asks to go outside for a walk, stand on the porch and listen for owls, or play with trains. He'll ask to eat a popsicle and watch Little Bear. He picks up a book and asks to read just one story.

After he gets into bed he wants to pray for something, and then he wants to hear at least one story. Then he wants me to rock in the chair as he falls asleep. He just doesn't want the day to come to an end.

Its a lot of fun but its also sad watching another day of his life come to and end. He has so much joy and passion for life that even living for one extra minute is something amazing.

Ida Rentoul Outhwaite

Putting our one year old daughter to bed is special in a much different way. She is so happy just to snuggle for a few minutes as she falls asleep. But she's been so much more happy and excited since she's learned to walk. I'm sure she will soon not want to go to bed without first doing just a few more activities for the day.

I try to come up with ideas for things we all can do together. Anytime I ask them to do something with me they are overjoyed. Perhaps this will change many years from now too. They'll have their own lives some day. For now, their family is their entire life. So I'm trying to make the most of every day with them.

This will probably seem like just normal life to anyone reading it. I'm just writing it down so people in the future will be able to understand what is a big part of my everyday life.

The Future

You can't control people. If you do, you'll be bored with who you turn them into or you won't like what you've done. So too our children will take our culture and family tree and build a future from it. They have to be set free, like an arrow. You can guide them and teach them, but they will choose their path on their own.