evergreen drive: hannah love

That's what our refrigerator looks like right now. The bottom four drawings were done on Sunday during Joe's sermon: me (with a book), Hannah (with a tree and bumblebees on the back), Daddy (at the pulpit, the altar is drawn on the back), and Raffie (Joseph's lovey...Joseph is on the back).

...And there's no denying the child "loves God and Jesus" - she writes it all the time.

In case you are wondering, that's a whale, a picture of her with Momma and Daddy, with her doll Maddalena. She drew a bunch of Christmas-themed pictures and cards. I especially loved the manger scenes.

Let it be known: Hannah is a prolific artist. She is creative and imaginative. She loves art supplies, and thanks to Aunt Katie at Christmas, has procured quite a collection of different media. The girl's got papers, crayons, pencils, paints, chalk, stickers, glitter, and on and on.

And she produces lots and lots of pieces. Lately it has been mostly drawings and notes (as she's learning to spell), but occasionally I receive a book (stapled pages together) or painting. She will proudly present each piece to us upon finishing. It is adorable. But it is also a little overwhelming. After all, I have to find a place to tuck away or display each piece. I can't say that I haven't thrown some away, indeed I have because of the sheer quantity. I really, really love the fact that she is a budding artist. She gets it from me, no doubt, and I'd rather not talk about art school tuition, but I love that she is creative and artsy.

For a long time, Hannah would finish a drawing and, somewhere wherever there is space, write "Hannah Love". Of course, she meant to write "Love, Hannah" but that's not how she did it. It would make me smile every time she came into whatever room I was in, put her drawing in my hand (oftentimes asking me to close my eyes first), and beam. Between her sweet smile looking up at me and "Hannah love", I was done. Be still my beating heart.

She would usually wait for a response. It could be just a thank you, hug, a compliment, or me immediately hanging the work right up on the refrigerator. Due to the number of times (a day!) this happens, I catch myself from over-praising her.

When the children were younger, I read that parents should be careful in giving praise and lavishing compliments on their children. That, while it's good to boost their self-confidence, we have to also be aware that we can give them an inflated sense of self and capabilities - and very interestingly - enable them to only perform or engage in an activity when praised. The study showed that children that are overly praised stop making an effort, or avoid altogether doing the activity.

All that to say, I try to mindful how I respond to Hannah's artwork presentations. I try to evaluate and make specifics comments like, "I love the way you drew those people" and "I like how you used so many colors."

Other times, I can't help myself and exclaim, "Hannah!! This is GREAT! I LOVE IT! You are such a little artist!!!" ;)