Peek a Boo!

Is there anything better than a giggle of a baby?  Today I had my two adorable nanny charges giggling at me as we played peek a boo.  These moments are certainly a boost when caring for 8 month old twins.  Yes, being a nanny for these baby twins is quite a lot for this "old lady".  But I am so thankful for this job and how well it has fit into my life.  I love that this is only a part time job.  I love that it is CLOSE to home (in the same town).  I love that the schedule fits my schedule and allows me to still be a grandma!  And I love being with babies.

I was thinking about this really sweet time I had with Gwen and Anna.......

 Gwen was reading this really sweet book called Hoot with Anna and I was sitting across the room!
Every time that Gwen held the book up to Anna's eyes, I would say "Peek A Boo" and  she would just giggle and giggle!

It was the sweetest thing.  I can't tell you how wonderful it is to see the amazement and discovery when little ones play.  And mixing a wonderful play time with reading is even better!  

I had a great time yesterday with Lia, Ellie, Zeke and Anna.  Gwen was at a meeting for her teaching position so I had charge of the kids.  She expected to be home in time to do "school" for Lia and Ellie, but her meeting ran late.  So this grandma got to "substitute" teach for the day.  I was not nearly as efficient as Gwen and we didn't get through all of the material before she got home, but it was still quite an experience for me.  During Ellie's science material I learned that the Florida Everglades is the only place on earth where there are crocodiles and alligators! How amazing is that?  And in a "read aloud" book for Lia I learned all about a "plain church" in New England in colonial times.  And when Anna woke up early from her nap, I learned just how difficult it is for Gwen to accomplish this school thing with a toddler and a 4 year old who also need attention.  Wow, I give her a lot of credit for taking on this task.  I was shocked at how much Ellie has learned in the 29 days of home school!  She told me facts about animals from her Science book.  She told me about the book that she already finished (Charlotte's Web) and read all of her sight words to me.  Lia is currently reading about Mayans and Incans, and Ellie and I read all about the Nile river and how important it was to Ancient Egypt.  This one little three hour session really showed me just how thankful I am that Gwen and Tim made this monumental decision to home school.  It is exciting to think about how much these kids will gain through this experience.  

So back to the peek a boo.....  On Sunday, during a worship time, I actually was thinking about peek a boo.  There was something in a song that brought my mind to this....really....I'm not making this up!  The words were "I never have to look around to see you are right there by my side. Even when I look away, you are always near to me."   And then I was thinking about the process of playing peek a boo with babies.  The purpose of this little game is to help them learn object permanence.  And that is exactly what we need to know about Jesus!  He is always there....even when we can't see him!  Yes, we all need to remember that during the times that we don't feel Jesus near to us, He is!  Just like in the game of peek a boo, we can learn (and remind ourselves) that Jesus is permanently with us!  Yes, peek a boo is a great thing!  I am so thankful for everything I am learning through children!  

Jesus, thank you for always being with us - even when we can't seem to realize it.  Thank you for the reminder to trust your permanence with us!  Thank you for providing the opportunity for Lia and Ellie to be home schooled.  And thank you for Gwen's willingness to carry this out!  Holy Spirit help us all to be open to learning and growing, even through things designed for children - or through the children themselves!  What a great lesson peek a boo is!  Amen