Some time for Mallory

As I look back on my posts, I realized that I haven't posted much about Mallory lately. Boy, is she growing up quick. I can't believe how fast time flies until I realize how much Mallory has grown both physically and intellectually in the past several months. She had hardly any words in her vocabulary last April and is now talking up a storm. Here is a list of some of the things she's now doing:

• Mallory prays for her family every night before she goes to bed, going something to the effect of "Bless Mommy. Bless Daddy. Bless Ethan. Bless Gommy. Bless Poppy. Bless Grams. Bless Pops. Bless Aunt Amanda. Bless Uncle David..." and sometimes adds a blessing to Giraffe or Doggie in there too. And the order of blessings always change.
• Mallory has learned her first scripture. Ephesians 4:32 "Be kind one to another". We say this a lot. Plus, I know a song to it and I sing it a lot. Along with "Have Patience".
• Mallory knows how to count to ten and say her ABCs. We're now learning how words begin with certain letters. Her fall project is making her own ABC book using pictures I've clipped from old magazines, though I'm having trouble finding pictures that begin with G, J, Q, X, Y and Z. I had trouble finding A pictures as well, so I found a picture of Aunt Amanda and she knows that Aunt Amanda begins with A. She says it A LOT.
• Mallory and her daddy read a bible story almost every night. I would have to say that her favorite Bible story is about Simon and his boat, which goes something like this: one day, Jesus was speaking to a bunch of people and used Simon's boat to go out into the water to speak from there. After Jesus was done speaking, Jesus told Simon to go into the water, cast his net and catch fish. Simon, from his experience, didn't think he would catch any fish, but obeyed Jesus anyway. So, in his obedienc to Jesus, Simon did as He said and caught big fish, little fish and wiggly fish (oh my!, as the storybook goes). The lesson that the storybook gives is that Simon pleased Jesus by obeying him. So, how can we please Jesus? Mallory's answers are "obeying mommy, obeying daddy, and sharing with Ethan. So, whenever I tell Mallory to do something and she doesn't listen, I tell her to remember she needs to obey mommy, to which she answers "Obey Mommy. Please Jesus. Simon and Boat". I love that these little lessons are already working in her heart.
• Mallory loves to sing. Her favorite has to be "If you're happy and you know it", but she also loves "Whole World in His Hands", "Ring Around the Rosy", "Row, row, row your boat", and "I've got the Joy". She also loves the song "Jesus, there's just something about that name". Here is a video (taken this morning) of her rendition...

Lyrics:

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. There's just something about that name.
Master, Savior, Jesus. Like the fragrance after the rain.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Let all heaven and earth proclaim.
Kings and kingdoms will all pass away,
But there's something about that name.