Nathan and the Gospital

Every night we all gather on Nathan's bed to read scriptures and say family prayers. Nathan used to be our least compliant one - blame it on his constant need to move and fidget and roll on someone, etc - but lately we've turned a whole new corner with this kid. No longer does he test our patience with sitting still but instead with his incessant request to read more after we've exhausted our time. He is all about reading and soaking it up and trying to understand anything we tell him. He answers even the most abstract questions that John throws out to him and 99% of the time he's right, even if he can't quite say the words. It's very humbling and slightly amusing to hear a 4 1/2 year old trying to explain the Atonement, resurrection and the meaning of righteousness.

Last week we accompanied John down to Duke to sit in the hotel with he went to class and eat his fancy foods and try out the local kids museums. I gave the kids the task of packing their own bags of entertainment for the trip. It wasn't until we got to Duke that I noticed the two - and only - items Nathan had packed to entertain him: His Spiderman costume and.. his Book of Mormon. We attended a ward down in Durham where the vast majority of the testimonies were from kids and after watching the 5th one go up, Nathan turned to John and said he wanted to go up also. So up he went and fearlessly and loudly declared his love for the "Gospital" to all the congregation. Such an amazing spirit for such an intense little body.