A Chapter a Day

Kevin and our oldest have this cute little tradition going that I just have to share about. He reads a book to her slowly, a chapter every day, with no pictures, while she listens intently until they're done. It takes them two or three weeks. Their first book was The Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, and they just finished Charlie and the Chocolate Factory last week. After each one, they celebrated by watching the dvd. We loved the movie version of The Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe, but the Willy Wonka movie with Johnny Depp was just strange. Guess I'm not a big fan of Tim Burton, and the movie had his stamp all over it. This next book they're going through doesn't have a movie, but it's a goodie anyway. It's a Ramona book by Beverly Cleary. After that, maybe Charlotte's Web. It has become a daily ritual: "Daddy, can you read me another chapter?" Kevin can never resist, and I love the sound and sight of them snuggled together reading. I'm hoping that the other kids will enjoy this too when they get older, even if it means Kevin reading the same books at least four times out loud.

It's times like these that I know I really lucked out in getting a great father for my kids. Not that I was thinking of that 13 years ago when we started dating. When you're that young, you're not thinking about parenthood. Thankfully, God knew what He was doing. He saw what I couldn't see 13 years and more into the future: that my kids would be getting the best possible dad in the world.