T and the BOM

Last year we set some goals about how we could help Talmage and our whole family prepare for him to be baptized. One of the goals that he thought was important was reading the whole Book of Mormon. At first it was a family affair, but after we added Cora to the mix I sadly realized that we were not keeping up the pace we would need to finish this precious book by the time T got baptized. In typical Talmage fashion he said, "No problem Mom, if I can read all seven Harry Potter's in a month I can definitely finish the Book of Mormon by myself." And he did. He read a little bit every day, but when Winter Break hit he decided that it was time to buckle down and finish it. That kid is so dedicated and such a brilliant reader. He took his scriptures EVERYWHERE and for a solid week I rarely saw him without his nose in that book. On January 4, 2017 he finished. I was so proud of his accomplishment I literally wanted to burst. Proud because he accomplished a big goal, but also proud that he had really soaked up the stories and lessons and could tell me all about the adventures of various scripture heroes. He immediately grabbed a pen and said, "I need to write my testimony on the cover!" He has a copy of the Book of Mormon where Uncle Chase had done a similar thing, which must be where he got the idea. He wrote his beautiful and simple testimony and said, "Well, I guess I better start on the Doctrine and Covenants!" I love that little boy--his righteous soul and constant desire to learn and grow.   

This was my sight literally EVERYWHERE!

That testimony and that CTR ring and that sweet little boy. 

After James got home that night we stole T from his bed and had some counter talk about his favorite parts of the Book of Mormon. He asked questions about things he didn't understand, James taught him some deeper meanings of scriptures and the whole time I thought--is this kid really only seven?! If talking religion is this insightful when he's still basically a baby, I can't wait for the counter talks we'll have with our teenage T!