Brotherly Love

Parker can be quite an annoyance to his sisters at times, but usually he is loving, caring, helpful and thoughtful.  A few weeks ago, he came home from Awanas so excited because he had gotten an extra piece of candy for doing a good job.  He had chosen Smarties because he knew it was Eden's favorite.  As soon as he got home, he begged me to let him sneak into her room (she was already asleep) and put it on her chair so that it would be waiting for her when she woke up the next morning. 

The next morning he woke up earlier than normal and ran to my room to ask if Eden had found her candy yet.  As soon as she appeared, he led her back to her room to give her the surprise he had left her.  She was thrilled and even shared her candy with him.  (Yes, I let them eat candy before breakfast that day.  How could I not?  They were both so excited about it.) 

I was so proud of how thoughtful Parker was.  I love watching the big brother/little sister relationship develop between them.  I know things will not always be perfect but I hope the bond they are developing now will last well into their teenage years and even into adulthood.  I always wanted a big brother to look out for me and am so thankful that Eden and Lily will have Parker to lead the way for them.

The funniest part of this story is that when I asked Eden who had left the candy on her chair, she excitedly exclaimed, "SANTA!!!!".  I guess in her little three year old mind Santa is the only one who has ever left her a present while she was sleeping!  Don't worry...we made sure that Parker got credit for his thoughtful deed after we stopped rolling on the floor laughing!