the tradition continues

i don't have a ton of memories of my childhood but one of the things that does stick out to me is that my parents spent hour upon hour of our little years reading the same old books to us.  it's not that they didn't expose us to new and different things...it's that bethany and i had a certain handful of books that we wanted to hear all. the. time.

and one of those favorite books was "my go-to-bed book".  yes, we loved the story, but one night our dad made up some goofy game using the animal patchwork design on the inside cover, and from that time on, we couldn't wait to get through the book so that we could play the game because it always resulted in tickling and laughing until we could barely breathe. 

now fast forward 25 years.  the kids and i were shopping in "tuesday morning" one day (only the finest for us) when something caught my eye in the book section.  yes, my friends, it was a board book version of the exact same book bethany and i used to have (which now resides in the chest my mom keeps of all of our keepsakes).  i think i squealed like a four-year-old and grabbed it off the shelf.  i threw the cover open to see if the inside cover was the same, and i almost cried when i saw those familiar cuddly animals nestled across the pages in a patchwork design.

i walked straight to the register to check out with my treasure.

the kids and i read/play "my go-to-bed book" all the time now, and it's as much a precious time for us as it was for our family growing up so many years ago.  so when my sweet parents made an impromptu visit to our house this week to visit with us, encourage us, and support us, i couldn't wait for the two generations surrounding me to enjoy the tradition together.

as abby read each page, my dad laid his head back, closed his eyes, and carefully recited each and every word of the book from the memories that are etched in his mind from so many years ago.

once the reading was done, the game could begin.  jack could hardly wait (it's his favorite part)...

mom and daddy, i love you so much and i'm so thankful for you and the blessings you are to our family.  and mom, thank you again for tonight...that's just what i needed.  ;-)