The House of Seven Colors

So I posted these pics on my facebook but I wanted to write a story about them.

First of all my Sesame Street Book Club collection is awesome, Mamaz got it through the mail for me when she found out she was pregnant with me. I can remember that I kept it on the top shelf of my closet as a kid and the only way of getting to it was to stand on my dresser which had to be pushed across the room to the closet so I could get at the stuff Mamaz had up there (I was that bad of a child, now go kiss your kids and love them for not being me because that was part of me being good). Anyways that's where my OCD started I couldn't let any 1 book be in the Big Bird holder for too long so I would spend hours standing there on the dresser deciding how to organize my books and making sure each one got an appropriate amount of time in the holder.

The one that was NEVER in there was The House of Seven Colors. It was my favorite book ever. It came everywhere with me. Every morning we would drive Dad to work in St Kitts and I would carry that along with me since it was so long of a drive I would need a book (like maybe 30mins of driving, felt like forever to me then).

Anyways on one of these FOREVER drives I came to the back of the book (I can remember it like it was yesterday we were on the sky way when I first turned to the back and pondered what it meant till we got to the 405 cut off to go home) I asked Mamaz what a blessing was. As a child we didn't go to church and I think the only thing I knew about religion was first that there was a guy named Jesus and second apparently that story I heard in grade 2 about a baby in the river was from the Bible. So Mamaz in her infinite wisdom told me about how blessings are your family. So I pondered that home and when we got there I got out my trusty pen and started a tally, Mamaz didn't see this I made sure I was in my room with the door closed because I knew not to draw in books! But I did it anyways (see I am bad). Anyways long before knowing much about tally charts and such I just made marks in 5's under L for Landon (Mamaz side) and B for Barton (Dads side). Then I counted them all up and came with 37, I now knew I had 37 blessings. That was so long ago, in a simpler time where I didn't know dollar values and thought that $2.00 was 200 dollars and felt that everything was too expensive and Mamaz and Dad must love me lots to be buying me all this crazy expensive stuff. I often think back to that innocents and my tally chart, now that I am older I know what blessings are a little better, now I can count ones that aren't family. I have friends that I can count as blessings, complete strangers I see at church that I can count as blessings, and small things in my life that I know are blessings (we pay tithing and I have seen the blessings that come from this, in fact as I write about this Kyle has emailed me to say that he now has a new job at work, not more money but better perks! See even bad kids can grow up ok, so take it easy when your kids are bad and think of me I am ok). Anyways back to basics, my family, we have grown alot since that little day of mine (I also count it as a blessing) the Landon side has boomed I guess one could say going from 24 members to 37! I could only be so lucky as my grandparents on that side they have 7 great grandchildren that they are able to see, not many people even see 1. Then on the Barton side, well we have always been a small family but we grew a bit from 13 to 17 (wow this must be old, looking at this I can date it, the year was 1990). No great grandchildren for that side yet, I am the oldest on that side and am also the only one married so yeah I say it will be a while longer! Anyways this is long and I am sure boring to everyone but me, I think of this story and think of how special I must have been. I have so many experiences from my childhood that just wouldn't make sense had I not joined the church and had my Patriarchal Blessing, I know I am special. what other 4 year old would think like me????