Child's Play and Baby Boys

I had the opportunity this past week to have Eli and Chloe over for some uninterrupted play time with the plastic animals.  As I watched them divide the animals into separate family units, it reaffirmed for me Heavenly Father's plan for the family. They had an innate knowledge that each family needed a mom & a dad, fulfilling different but equal roles. They also had a natural inclination to emulate the parent of their own gender, Eli taking the role of father and Chloe the mother.  They acted out all kinds of situations - daddies going to work, mommies taking care of sick children. I believe there was even a giraffe heading off to serve a mission. What struck me the most about their play was how vital the family unit was to them and how important it was that their baby animals had parents - both parents. Even these little children know that a father and a mother, with their unique characteristics, provide the necessary foundation from which children can learn and grow. 

I am also so happy to know that an 8th Anderson grandson will be joining us in a few months. As I have wondered why we have so many boys in the family, it dawned on me that the world is in dire need of good men - men who will grow up in the gospel, who willingly serve the Lord and their fellow man, who will be good husbands and fathers. What better place for them to learn what it means to be a man than in an Anderson home? And what great examples they will be of the kind of men our sweet, precious granddaughters should look for in their future husbands.

I am so grateful for all of our little ones - they teach me so much....