little citizens

it seems terribly un-American for me to say that i don't want our kids to just be "proud to be an American."

although there are MANY things i'm thankful for in America, it is definitely not everything to me.

i've always just wanted to be a citizen of the world. and now that we have five little minds that we are blessed to help shape? i want the same for them.

so, what does it mean for them to be little citizens of the world?

-it means knowing that this world is so much bigger than our house, our town, our state, our country. i want our kids to know that if they are called to it, they have our blessing to go anywhere.

-it means that we talk about the good in other countries. respecting elders in Japan, respecting the environment in Switzerland, appreciation of rest in Spain, strong family ties in Italy & simple joy that the kids in Africa show.

-it means that the world is made of of many sizes, shapes and colors. red and yellow, black and white. they are all precious. and we get the blessing of experiencing some of those colors right here in our own home.

-it means that even though someone may look different, dress different or have different beliefs....they still laugh, fear, cry and love just the same.

and that is my biggest hope. that, above all, our little citizens of the world just love.

this post entered into the little citizen's of the world blog contest for [awesome] children's clothes company, Tea.