All Finished!

So, I am about two weeks late with this post, but I had to commemorate a big event for Ian. (No, he isn't potty trained-- that would require some sort of black-tie, red-carpet gala celebration.) Every night before we go to bed, we have a routine. We read two stories (sometimes three, if we can sneak an extra one under Mommy's radar!) and then we read a chapter out of The Book Of Mormon Reader. For those of you who are unfamiliar with what this is, it is a simplified, illustrated book containing stories from the Book of Mormon. We have been working on it for about six months and have finally finished! Ian has been a lot of fun with the stories and has integrated some of the words into his vocabulary. It is kind of fun to hear a two-year-old say things like "Lamanite," "Prophet," "Angel," and "Crumble."

Crumble, by the way, is his favorite part of the entire book. That is Ian's word for the pictures of the earthquakes, lightning, et cetera that Samuel the Lamanite prophecies will happen at the death of Jesus Christ. It has been fun to see how Ian has learned some of the stories and begun to remember and relate to some of the people. He loves the parts about baptism in Alma and 3rd Nephi and wants to see the pictures of baby Jesus almost every night. We are now working on the New Testament Reader and Ian likes to ask questions about what Jesus is doing. Every couple of nights, though, he wants to go back to the Book of Mormon to see his old friends.

Watching him begin to become familiar with the scriptures, (really the scripture stories at this point) has made me think about my own familiarity with the scriptures, the doctrines of the gospel and ultimately my own relationship with Christ. Trying to help Ian understand who Jesus is, why we pray and what we learn from the scriptures has reminded me that I need to be spending more time and more structured time working on my own understanding. Hopefully, Ian will be able to continue learning without the pauses and gaps that I have had in my efforts. I am excited to see who he will become and how his commitment to the Lord will grow. And I hope that I will be faithful enough to be the kind of example that he needs. I'm so glad to be a daddy!