A boy and a purse

I just love my little guys, you know? At church we had been experimenting for seven weeks with two services. But the last two weeks we've been back to normal with just one service at 9:30. The best thing about that is that I don't miss seeing the boys. So last Sunday, I see their dad arrive without them. I figured they ran out to the playground and I was right. After a bit, they came ambling down the hallway and announced that they would be sitting with me. The two youngest ones, that is. Feta and Prince wouldn't get out of bed. Aaron is so disdainful of that because he always wants everybody to be in church. I'm predicting a preacher out of that boy. I've even said so before. He says basketball player (he's gonna be short) and I say preacher. Within a song or two, Ernest is predictably asleep, so I have Aaron change places so that Ernest can lay across my lap and sleep. Aaron wants to draw, which I allow because I know he listens to the sermon. At some point in the service, he'll ask a theological sort of question and I usually hush him. This time it was, "Do I really have to close my eyes when we pray?" NO, there's nothing magical about closing your eyes other than helping things get still, but he asks this question in the middle of a prayer! Another question was, "Can I have a pen?" I said yes and sort of kicked my purse toward him. He just looked at me like I was crazy and said, "That's OK."