Is Loved More Than a Sack of Taters

"Mom, I love you more than a sack of taters," Pearce said with a hearty grin and an exaggerated drawl.

Not to be outdone, I said, "Son, you can sweet talk the horns right off a billy goat, and I love you too.""I love you more, mom." And so it begins.

"I love you, Pearce, more than all the trees on the earth.""I love you, Mom, more than all the frogs on the earth.""I love you more than all the number of stars in the sky." You get the picture.

This has been my way of trying to quantify my love to my children. This has been my way of trying to give them a visual picture of just how much I love them because children are such concrete and literal thinkers.When Pearce first started telling me he loved me more than a sack of taters, my first thought was, "Boy, you been spending too much time with your Poppar" (my daddy). But it was simply his way of starting the conversation and his way of getting to hear me say how much I love him.

For Erin, it progressed from the "I love you more than…" to "Guess what?" That is Erin's phrase for everything. "Hey, mom, guess what!" Of course, I'm rarely given the opportunity to guess, and when I am given such an opportunity I make it so absurd that she wonders why she even tries. "Mom, guess what!" Erin says excitedly.

"You are going to go snow skiing down Mount Everest backwards with a cricket in your pocket going forwards.""Mom, you're not even close," she says with a grin. Then she begins telling her story of the thrilling event or tidbit of information she finds fascinating. When she's very excited I hear, "Hey, mom, guess what! Guess what!"

Each are so unique with different strengths and different temperaments and different gifts. Loving them and disciplining them differently can be quite challenging at times too. Invariably one thinks I'm unfair.You know, I've learned so much about my heavenly Father by being a mom to Erin and Pearce.

"Kristy, do you know how much I love you?""More than all the stars in the sky?"

"More than that.""More that all the dust bunnies in my house?"

"More than that.""More than all the sand on every beach on Earth?"

"I love you so much that I knew you before the world was created. I love you so much that I made you a masterpiece, a one-of-a-kind, priceless. I love you so much that I have the number of hairs on your head numbered. I love you so much that I was willing and did die for you because I didn't want your sin to separate us any longer. That's how much I love you.""WOW, that's some kind of extravagant love!"