"once upon a time there were three princesses. Jasmine, Cinderella. and Cinderalla wore a pink shirt and pink skirt with pink shoes. and she went looking for the prince but she couldn't find him. and then she went out for a walk and a big storm came and then Jesus came and he parted the waters and (with her hands out in front of her wide open), Jesus said, "be still, do not be afraid. and then he calmed the water". and they all lived happily ever after."

I kid you not this is a regular regular story Hannah tells me each evening as we are now entering a phase where she wants to tell stories instead of sing at night. This one occurs just about every night and just about in those words and in that order. and if you are wondering if had typos or missed a sentence I did not. i grin so big everynight when she tells stories.

what's even better is that she wants me to tell her a story. and i always imagine that her dad gives her unbelievable stories so with the pressure i on,i dive in. and i suprise myself, they are good, creative and she loves them. one small issue may be a recurrent theme of serious female heroines. I only noticed my strong sway in this direction when i told one blantant dont give up you are never too small story the other night and she cut me off before i was done and said, night night momma.

i really love these story times. i love her imagination. i even love that her stories always involve pink and Jesus. and about 10 minutes after we leave the room each night right now, we are called back in and she says..."there are no storms, and no kings (?), and no animals (and tonight skeletons, thank you Halloween) outside that window?" and everynight, we say, no baby, you are safe and sound, surrounded by angels, sleep tight.