Watching And Noticing

We have a lovely crib for our grandchildren in a room upstairs.
My husband is consistently changing the front of the crib.
Safety standards have changed so much since I had my children.
It has been twenty-four years since my youngest daughter was born.

Crib rails used to raise and lower.
That is deemed unsafe now.
Cribs used to have bumper pads around the sides.
They are now considered a hazard, since a baby’s head could get stuck underneath.

I had to become aware of today’s safety standards.
Warning labels are affixed to the sides of most baby items.
There is not just one label; there are multiple labels on every side.
You simply cannot miss the warnings.

My husband changes the front of the crib depending on which granddaughter is sleeping there.
The one-year-old needs the mattress at the lowest setting, since she can stand at the rails.
Our infant granddaughter needs the mattress at the highest setting, as a newborn.
The crib rail goes all the way across the front for those two granddaughters.

However, for our two-year-old granddaughter, the crib rail needs to be replaced.
The railing becomes a toddler bed railing.
It has an opening so she can climb in and out by herself.
She was used to our crib from all the times she has slept in it, so the transition was easy.

We will set up a twin bed in another bedroom very soon.
I envision that extra bedroom as the grandchild room as they get older.
I can see a twin bed and perhaps bunk beds in there as well.
I love when our grandchildren sleep over.

Once the twin bed is set up, we can leave the crib alone.
The crib rail can stay the same, which will be less work for my husband.
Only the mattress height will change, depending on their ages.
That is an easy adjustment.

When our two-year-old granddaughter is here, she likes to take a nap in Grandma’s crib.
She brings her favorite stuffed Piggy and blanket with her.
She brings a few favorite books, that she chooses from the shelves.
She climbs up the stairs and climbs into the toddler bed, through the rail opening.

I usually plug in a small fan, since the white noise is comforting to her.
I usually put the ceiling fan on in the spring and summer.
Piggy, blanket, and her books go in first.
My granddaughter climbs in the bed after them.

I could hear her talking after I closed the door.
She was “reading” her books with a lot of expression.
I could pick out words here and there.
I heard her say, my foot, with a whimper; I assumed she may have hit her foot on the bed.

It took a while before she finally fell asleep.
When she woke up an hour and a half later, my youngest daughter wanted to get her.
Working remotely has its benefits.
I knew there would be a diaper change and her little Crocs would go back on her feet.

I heard them talking but could not discern what they were talking about.
Minutes later, they came downstairs.
My daughter was laughing.
In between giggles, she explained.

I don’t know how she actually went down for a nap but there were some extra things in bed.
I saw Piggy and blanket but not the books, which I knew I would get later.
I looked confused.
I was curious.

Her Crocs were in her bed.
The basket of twisties for her hair were dumped out in her bed.
The hair brush was in her bed.
The no more tangle spray was in her bed.

Hearing the words, my foot, began to make sense.
She was trying, unsuccessfully, to get her Crocs on her feet by herself.
She got out of bed and gathered things for a hair salon right there in the toddler bed.
I could picture her trying to brush her hair as she held a twisty to the top of her head.

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.
(1 Peter 3:3,4)

Somehow, even this young, my granddaughter is learning.
She watches her mommy fix her hair.
She wants to dress herself and has favorite clothes she likes to wear.
Even without an explanation, she watches and notices everything.

We laughed at the sweetness of what she did.
As mothers and grandmothers, we are careful not to put too much emphasis on the outside.
It is the inside that matters most.
It is the inner beauty that is precious to God.

Thankfully, her parents are teaching her about the Lord Jesus and His Word.
Thankfully, they care about her precious little soul while caring for her physical needs.
I was just amazed at how even at two-years-old, my granddaughter is paying close attention.
I am thankful that she is also paying close attention to Jesus.

My children grew up watching, Hide ‘Em In Your Heart.
Steve Green sang songs which were written to help children memorize Scripture.
My granddaughter got the two Hide ‘Em In Your Heart DVDs as a gift.
They are the same DVDs my own children watched.

One song, based on Psalm 56:3,4 is about what to do when you are afraid.
A little girl wakes up during a thunderstorm.
She turns on the bedside light and reaches for her Bible.
She reads the verses from Psalm 56 and prays.

My daughter and her husband checked on my sweet granddaughter before they went to bed.
They found that though her light had been off, the light was now on.
They found her Bible in her bed.
She watched what the little girl did; it made an impression on her.

Children never miss a thing.
It matters what they see and what they hear.
How are we doing?
What do they see when they watch us, especially when we don’t know they are watching?