Blessings and Plagues

After having had a first child who didn't sleep through the night until almost 18 months and a second child who was serious to the point of gruffness as a baby, I can't tell you how it warms my heart to have a baby who wakes after a five hour stretch of sleep, then grins and squeals delightedly at me as I pick her up. Life has developed a Biblical atmosphere around here. Daphne was baptized a week ago. Jack has taken to reading his children's Bible by himself and giving us oral book reports. His current favorite stories include Jesus's temptation in the desert, Peter's betrayal, and Solomon's sins of building temples to his many wives' pagan gods. Rather macabre fare. He has a relative sense of humor about it, though, as apparently yesterday at his preschool's VBS, he announced that he felt sorry for Noah's family because they had to live on the ark with the likes of Mosquitos and flies and bees. Graham is following Jack's interests as usual. Angered at something his brother was doing a few days ago, Graham decreed, "I'm going to throw you into the lion's den!"