I Love My Kids

I was inspired by Stephanie Waite's and Daleen's blogs to write about my step-children and how much I appreciate the little things they do. They are amazing little people, and they mean the world to me.

Scott

Scott is a remarkable artist and Lego genius. I love the way Scott can instantly turn something plain and ordinary into something amazing and unique. He spends hours building things with his Legos, creating things with beads, drawing and painting pictures, making his own board games, and creating movies with his camera. He has an amazing artistic talent.

Scott has an extremely sweet and friendly personality. He has a high respect for Brad and me and never fights or talks back to either of us. He loves to cuddle, hug, and say "I love you" every day. I particularly appreciate the way Scott treats his little sister, Emma. He teases her occasionally (as most boys do), but at the same time I've never seen such a kind and loving brother. He treats Emma as if she is his best friend and they are often inseparable.

Scott is also extremely smart. He inherited his dad's brains and knack for learning new things, and he loves to ask questions about everything, including very advanced and abstract questions. Scott has an amazing memory and can recall things with perfect clarity at times. He loves learning about astronomy, geology, and biology. He is a great writer and reader and likes making up stories.

Scott also has a funny sense of humor. He loves saying silly things and acting goofy to make people laugh. He and I love to tease each other playfully every day. For example, we often play the "you're cute" game with each other. This is something I taught him and he has since passed it on to others. It goes something like this:

Scott: You're cute.

Me: You're cute, too.

Scott: You're cuter.

Me: You're cutest.

Scott: You're cuterest.

Me: You're cuterestest.

Scott: You're cuterererestest.

That's usually when I stop and say, "Thank you."

I love the moments I spend with him laughing and playing. I don't take take these moments with Scott for granted. They're precious to me.

Emma

Emma is our social butterfly. I love the way she brightens up our home with her enthusiastic love for life and her desire to be near us. She cares deeply about what others think of her, and in consequence will always try her best to be friendly and nice. She loves to cuddle with me every day and smother my face with kisses. I love it when she says, "I love you, my Becky! I am so happy you are my step-mom!"

Emma loves music and dancing. Brad and I take turns singing to Scott and Emma every night and Emma always gets excited when it's my turn to sing to her. She almost always picks the same songs: "Little Bunny Foo Foo" and "Icky Sticky Bubble Gum." She also likes it when I sing "E-M-M-A," which I adapted from Mr. Roger's song "You are Special" with a few words switched to personalize it for Emma. She LOVES it! Here's how it goes:

E-M-M-A

You are special

You are my friend

You're special to me.

There's only one of you like you.

Like you my friend

I like you.

In the daytime

In the nighttime

Anytime that you feel's the right time.

For a friendship with me, you see

E-M-M-A

You are special,

You are my friend

You're special to me.

There's only one in this wonderful world

Emma . . . is . . . special.

I also love how responsible Emma is. She cares deeply about doing things right and in an organized fashion. She always gets her homework done on time and asks for my help every day during the school year. She loves maintaining her room and keeping her things tidy. She tries her best to please me and always wants to be a helping hand. I love her desire to be good and helpful. She makes being a step-mom a whole lot easier for me. Both Scott and Emma do.

Scott and Emma are wonderful children and I love them very much. They sparkle up my life and I am grateful to be their parent.