Good Boy

Because this is Doug, not Melissa, writing the post, there won't be any adorable pictures of Dallin (I believe some of those will be coming shortly). But since this blog is essentially an Ode to Dallin, I thought I'd share a story from a few days ago that concerns one of those (rare) moments in a parent's life where you feel you've done something right.

Many of you know that since the day he was born, Dallin has had an independent streak. One way that this is manifested is that if Dallin is not interested in something, he'll let you know. For example, often times when we'll say our family prayer at night Dallin will shout "Amen" right after prayer begins, because he knows he can do something else if he can get Melissa and I to say amen as well. He also has a tendency to squirm and whine when we read the illustrated Book of Mormon or will throw a tantrum if we take his ball away when it is time to start Family Home Evening. Thus, there have been a few times when I've wondered if he'll ever get anything out of these activities, or if our efforts are just in vain.

Well, the other day (being the independent boy he is), Dallin went upstairs to play in his room while Melissa and I were working on other things downstairs. After a few minutes I snuck up the first few stairs so I could peek through the railing into his bedroom to see what he was up to. Often times when I do this he'll have his crayons out and be coloring on something he shouldn't or he'll be smashing his cars into each other. This time, however, he had pulled out his illustrated Book of Mormon, seated himself on the carpet, and as he flipped the pages and looked at the pictures I heard him saying "In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." I guess we're not doing such a bad job after all.