November 7

I was less than thrilled when I got up this morning to find that Isaac and Brady had dumped their extensive collection of cardboard boxes right smack in the middle of the foyer. When I questioned them about their intentions, they said they were planning to build something epic and assured me that they'd clean up the mess before they went to bed today.

I took Abby to the store to buy some fabric for a school project, when we we got home, I found that this was the fruit of their labor: a rocket ship for their stuffed animals (pictured: Chub on top, Slime on the bottom). It's complete with wings, windows fashioned from Ziploc bags, and rocket boosters on the backside.

They were super duper happy with their creation and I loved seeing their enthusiasm spill over as they hauled it outside to show it to Adam, who was reading in the backyard. There's really nothing quite like seeing your kids exercise their minds and create. (And the bonus blessing? They kept their word and cleaned up, and I didn't even have to nag. Actually, that's not just a blessing. That may well be a miracle.)