Star Wars, Serenades, and Silliness

Last night, we surprised Braden by taking him to see "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" -- a movie he's wanted to see ever since the first time he saw a preview months ago. While outwardly, I was dreading this moment, secretly I was thankful to have an excuse (a 5-year old) for me to see it.

We bought tickets on Fandango, giving us peace of mind that we would have tickets when we arrived just-in-time about 10 minutes before the movie began on opening night. But tickets don't guarantee seats -- at least not three seats together that aren't on the front row.

Not wanting to strain our necks or sit in separate seats, we opted for a refund and came home. Braden was upset, but quickly snapped out of it when we all realized that "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" was debuting on the Cartoon Network -- less than 10 minutes after we got home. (Whew!)

So there we sat on the couch in the comfort of our own home, with floors far less stickier and snacks much less expensive than at the theater. After Yoda saved the day in two back-to-back episodes, we turned off the TV and talked about the baby.

We told the big-brother-to-be that we could sing to the baby and that he or she would be able to hear us. (It may be too soon for that, but why not?) Braden immediately leaned over and started singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" directly to Amanda's belt buckle -- almost as if it were a microphone. Then I started us off on "Jesus Loves Me" and we changed the words to "little baby to Him belongs, he-or-she is weak, but Jesus is strong!"

Years ago, during Pastor Gregg's series on Colossians, Amy Harrell sang a song based on Colossians 1:9 in one of the worship services. She told the story of her parents praying this verse over her as a child. That image has stuck with me ever since. Even before I met Amanda, I had visions of myself and my wife praying this same verse over our child -- and even singing this song over her womb.

So, last night was the night for that to finally happen.

Braden knows that song since I sometimes sing it to him when I put him to bed. Since the day (or season in my life) when God confirmed that he would be my son, I've been praying for him and asking God to build him up into a strong, godly man who knows and loves His Truth.

"For this reason..." I began, and Braden joined along. Amanda chimed in, too, but couldn't quite get all of the words out. It's difficult to sing when every muscle in your face is being used to create a smile so big it almost hurts! So she watched me and Braden as we sang into her belt buckle, letting the baby know that we are praying for him or her.

That sweet, tender, beautiful moment was followed by Braden saying, "Hey ... I know a good name for the baby!"

"What, buddy?" I asked.

... and Braden immediately tooted and laughed his head off.