A million kisses.

A common occurrence: Evy, sitting in the hallway covering herself with lotion and then asking you to help her rub it in. An even more common occurrence: Evy suddenly squirting lotion all over my arm while I'm doing my school work. Last night she went around and gave each of her brothers a foot rub while we read together.
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I've never known a kid to be so expressive and aware of her own will and needs, while maintaining a tenderness and flexibility for the needs of others. She is touched with a skill for sensitive communication and intuition that I believe is part of her eternal nature.  I am amazed at the different talents and blessings that each child brings to our home.
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Just so, each personality brings a new dimension of challenge to the family. We see glimpses of stubbornness that for now make us sigh, but might later present great obstacles in our responsibility to teach and care for our Evy. This week she had such a high fever that she started to shudder and break out in a rash. We cycled the same scenario each time she needed to take medicine, her stubborn refusal, her eventual consent, the miserable process of consumption, and then almost immediate physical relief of symptoms.
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We tried not to laugh as we came near her mouth with the medicine and she snaked her body away yelling, "it's too close, it's too close!" Each time Matt and I locked eyes we just had to kiss out of joint understanding of the task we have to be partners in parenting our children.

I could kiss him and kiss him, a kiss for every weakness, a kiss for every strength. A kiss for every obstacle, a kiss for every blessing. A million kisses for every dynamic trait of each child we made together. And a million prayers of gratitude.

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