Religious artifacts

It's a well-known fact that reverence is not our family's strong suit.  However, we have found people in whose proximity we are free to be ourselves and with whom we can laugh when things get crazy at church.

Two days ago we had a Sunday miracle: we sat through the entire 75 minutes of Sacrament Meeting without leaving once with a screaming child, or to take a preschooler to the bathroom, or to find someone with a diaper bag so a certain stench could be eradicated.  No, this week was mostly quiet and calm (will you all please knock on the nearest wood surface for me?).  This was in large part due to the fact that all three boys played/worked in the snow for several hours on Sunday morning.  While they were playing I was thinking there were probably better things to do on the Sabbath, but after such a terrific church experience with the boys, I am reconsidering my position.

ANYWAY.

Gavin sat contentedly with a pen and paper for at least half an hour.  This has to be a record.  And the masterpiece he created was spectacular.  See for yourself:

You might not be able to read the headline across the top of the page.  To translate: The family has seven people in its family.

You might also notice that the family pictured has eight members instead of the seven that actually exist in our house.  I confirmed with Gavin that this was, indeed, a portrait of our family.  I asked him to tell me why he drew eight people.  He started at the left and named each person: Dad, Mom, Zach, Tyler, Gavin--he skipped the tall one--Lexi, and Kate.  When prodded for information about the tall kid in the middle, he said, "Oh, he's a robot."

Hm.  A robot.  This kid and his awesome little brain are the best.  We passed Gavin's drawing to a few of our pew-mates and we all laughed heartily silently.  It was a good day to be at church...but we sort of reserved learning something for the second and third hours.

Amen.