Can I get this in writing?

On our way home from Chloe's newest hobby, hip-hop dance class, she said all thoughtful-like, "I wonder what Jasmine will be like when she is older." I asked her what she meant and she said, "Well, she's been doing amazing lately, but I just wonder what it will be like when she learns to make good choices all the time."
In my constant crusade against perfectionism in my too-hard-on-herself-always child, I said, "No one ever makes good choices ALL the time."
Her response, "I will Mommy, even when I'm a teenager."  :-) Obviously my crusade is not very effective so far.
That did lead to some sarcastic comments from me about teenagers and how they are just made to make choices different from what their parents would want and to learn from their own experiences.
My little girl who is wise beyond her 8 years then says, "Yeah. I hear that some teenagers are bad because of their childhood. Some have hard lives."
Quiet...Thinking...
"What kinds of bad things do teenagers do?"
So, we talked about the horribly bad things that teenagers do like sneaking out, lying, kissing boyfriends ;-), arguing with parents, etc.
"I will NEVER do any of those things. I will ALWAYS listen to you no matter if I have a boyfriend or friends or I am at a party or anything!"

Hahaha! If only this promise was more easily kept.

"Do we love God as much as Carter McMorris?"

There was no way for us to predict that when we chose the name Carter six years ago that millions of other moms were choosing that same name for their little boys. (The same is true for Brice...millions of them all in elementary school!) Thus, everyone from school calls our boys by their first and last names.

During the first week of school, Carter's teacher....Carter McMorris' teacher, I should say...asked the class what made each of them special. Carter answered, "The McMorrises are special because they love God the most." So sweet. As his mom, I am so glad that he knows without hesitation that God is our priority...loving Him, honoring Him, obeying Him. I continue to pray that his faith will grow and change, but always remain this strong and sure.

That answer must have stuck with a classmate of Carter's because his mom told me that they had the following conversation that night at their bedtime prayers.

Gage: "Mommy, how much do we love God?"
Mom: "Umm...a lot. Why do you ask?"
Gage: "Do we love God as much as Carter McMorris?"
Mom: "It's not really a competition. We all love God the same."
Gage: "But Carter McMorris says that the McMorrises are special because they love God THE MOST."

And honestly, if you asked Carter, he probably meant it just like he said it. ;-) He is working on being humble, but if there is something to be done, he will do it the best, most, fastest....always.