Tonight's Devotions

After spending a couple of nights reading/talking about Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, tonight's assignment for the kids was to pretend they had travelled to Israel with the Queen and were returning to their home with the job of telling everyone there who hadn't gone (Mommy & Papi) what Solomon was like.

In preparation, Joe asked what they would do first when they got home from such a long journey. The answer? "Take off our shoes and play!"

A1 really got into the re-telling:

(Kids run in from hallway, all jumping up and down excitedly like the monopods on the island in the "Voyage of the Dawn Treader," which they continue through the entire story.) WE'RE HOME!!!!

Mommy: Welcome home! How was your trip?

Kids: Great!

Mommy: Did you see Solomon? What was he like?

A1: Yes! He was wearing a crown. It was made out of gold and silver.

Mommy: Wow! So he must be very rich!

Papi: He must have lots of money!

A1: Yes! And he was giving it out to everybody!

Mommy: Well, that's not very smart. Why would he give all his money away?

A1: Yes, he is smart! He is keeping some of it for himself, but he's giving the rest away.

Mommy: So you thought Solomon was pretty smart, huh?

A1: Yes.

Mommy: What did he do that made you think that?

A1: Well, when we got there, he was sleeping.

Mommy: Oh, so did he have a dream?

A1: No we crept into his bedroom and pitched our tents.

Mommy: You pitched your tents in his bedroom?

A1: NO! We pitched our tents OUTSIDE first!

(At this point, A2 demonstrates the tents by dropping suddenly to the floor and covering himself with his blanket.)

Papi: So did you ask Solomon any questions to see how smart he is?

J: Yes! We asked him LOTS of questions.

Papi: And did he answer them?

Girls: YES!

A1: I was smarter than him, so I helped him answer the questions.

Papi: How many questions did he answer?

A1: (stopping jumping and suddenly looking very serious) 25.

J: He answered them all!

A1: We stayed there for 20,000 nights, and he took us all over the whole country and it's PERFECT!

Papi: Is it flowing with chocolate and Coca Cola?

A1. No. They have Dr. Pepper and Coca Cola. Here, we brought you some. (handing out pretend drinks)

Moral of the Story: Don't feed a 5-year-old half a package of gummy bears before family devotions. Also, if A1 is telling you a story, that's probably just about all it is: a story. But no one can claim she has poor self-esteem.