Proverbs 29:17 ESV

"Discipline your son and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart."

Fletcher, if there is going to be a Bible verse that is going to be my "theme" for raising you, I think this is going to be it. You, Son, give delight to this mother's heart, that's for sure. But of all of my children, so far, you definitely require the most discipline. You once spent 45 minutes in the corner because when I explained that hitting required an apology, you told me, "I not sorry, Mommy" and it took that long for you to change your tune. The other day, you threw something on the floor and I asked you to please pick it up. You told me, "Me not pick it up, Mommy. Me not pick it up." I explained that you were going to pick up, so you might as well do it now. Ten minutes later, you relented and acknowledged who was the boss.

But Fletcher, for every instance where you test my patience, there are ten others that bring delight to my heart. Yesterday, you watched while I blew my hair dry. It was rather wild when I was done and I asked you, "Does my hair look pretty?" You just gazed up at me, and without missing a beat or changing your facial expression, told me, "Nope." Another thing, you and I have been working on naming colors lately. This morning, while I was nursing Grier, you were reading, "Brown Bear, Brown Bear," to yourself. I overheard you saying, "Children, children, children...We see a brown bear, white dog, black sheep, goldfish, blue horse, blue frog, blue duck, blue cat, teachy. We see." For every animal that you couldn't remember the color for, you simply inserted blue. No biggie. And this evening, when Bo was sick and fell asleep in my bed, I thought you had gone back to get something from your room, but when you came back to the living room, you told me, "Bo still sweepin, Mommy. Bo still sweepin." You had gone to check on your beloved big brother. And what mother's heart wouldn't melt when she says, "I love you, Fletcher," and she hears in return, "I wub you, Mommy."

You are too precious for words, Fletcher Jay.