My Little Gentleman

I try to teach my boys good manners. Open the doors for people, help out when it seems like someone can use help, let girls go first, carry things for Mommy, use polite words, put others first, etc. I want them to grow up to be kind, helpful fathers and husbands. And most importantly, men who love others as God loves us. It's a tall order for a Mom! And most of the time it is frustrating for me because I don't see the fruits of my labor yet!

But this little gentleman has been surprising me lately. All of a sudden he is becoming more helpful. When I ask him to help me carry in a grocery bag, he will grab two instead of one. He grunts and says it's really hard but he tries his hardest to carry in the heavy load for me.

When he can tell I don't feel well he is the first to come and give me a hug and ask me if I'm okay. It's funny because Lucas is my most aggressive temperamental child, and yet he has this really soft side to him.

The other day we were at the splash pad and I was about to apply sunblock to Lucas. All of a sudden he stopped me and looked worried. He told me "You can't put it on me. Jenna needs to go first because she's a girl!"

I realized that maybe Lucas has been listening to some of the lessons I've been teaching him. I can't take all the credit though, because I teach the same things to Ryan and he is not as eager to help. So much of it seems to be their God-given personality. I'm going to keep trying to raise little gentlemen and pray that my efforts pay off!