Emma

My daughter was playing Endless Ocean on the Wii the other day. There's a part of the game where you encounter a dolphin, which you can name and "train." She named hers "Emma." It pleased me greatly that she actually came up with a name on her own for the dolphin. You see, my daughter never names things. When she does, she typically just calls them by what they are; a stuffed animal cat, for example, is simply named "Cat", a dog is simply called "Dog", etc.

One other thing she's been doing lately is reading -- a lot. Yesterday, she literally read for over two hours. It was astonishing! She's suddenly discovered a whole world of literature and her ability to absorb it on her own, without adult intervention, has become a great joy to her. The other day she actually uttered the long-awaited phrase, "I like to read!" My wife and I were ecstatic.

One thing that ties these two items together is that my daughter reads the scriptures at night before going to bed. Not strictly the scriptures, actually, but illustrated books that tell scriptural stories. She is currently reading one about the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which contains stories about the Doctrine and Covenants and early church experiences. Of course, in these stories are many about the prophet Joseph Smith, and some about his wife, Emma. Yes, that's where she got her dolphin's name. I was pleased by that, too. It's a good name, from a good woman.