Learning Some Stuff From Dad

Brad has had a lot more free time on his hands lately.

He's been playing "monkey in the middle" and taking long walks and completing projects around the house.

Can you see the swing in the background?

Brad and Micah were trying to figure out how to mount new support beams so that the swing will be able to hold all of the craziness that I'm sure will take place on it now that it's been sentenced to an existence at the Sanatorium.

What I loved about this project is that Brad really needed Micah's help--it wasn't some contrived "Let me help!" assignment--and Micah knew it and felt quite grown up. Getting Micah one on one is always a joy. He has interesting, clever, and sometimes quite deep thoughts that often shock me when they come from a ten-year-old mouth.

Whenever there's a project, Hyrum wants to be included. He holds screwdrivers and sweeps trash. He runs back into the house for drinks of water or forgotten directions. He wanted to help hang this picture last night so bad, but he didn't have his chores done yet. He ran and whined and cried and complained, hoping Brad wouldn't have the screws all the way in the anchors before he finished.

Lucky for him, Dad saved one for him.

Man, I love these three boys of mine. I'm so glad they have a dad who tries to include them in his projects, even when things would go much smoother and faster if he could just finish them himself. I need to take a lesson from his playbook.