reflections

I am sitting here on this busy Saturday enjoying the calm before the storm. Often times, life is so busy, I forget to sit and reflect on what God has blessed me with. We are so busy coming and going, making sure that homework is finished, going to this appointment or that practice, that I usually end up barking orders at my children to "get going NOW". Is this the picture of a mom that I want my children to remember as they get older? It's so hard not to be that mom, though.

That's why mornings like these are so important. Right now everything is calm and my boys are getting the much needed rest that they need. It's a good time for me to reflect, thank God for what he has given me, and to ask God for guidance, patience, and direction.

I have four wonderful boys in my life. In the craziness and busy-ness (is that a word?) of life, I take that for granted way too much. I don't want to have regrets one day when they are grown and gone that I didn't take the time to just stop and enjoy the here and now. I want to savor these moments with my family because I know that these moments are fleeting. In order to do that, I have to make myself do that. I have to make sure to slow things down and not get wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of life. It's hard to do, but in the end it will be well worth it.

A New Appreciation

I've been thinking of all the things that we take for granted.

I am so thankful for the time I have with my family and friends. I'm so glad to wake up in the morning to see my sons' beautiful faces. I'm glad for the times to hold them in my arms, and I look forward to hearing their stories and how they perceive the world around them. I enjoy our evenings at home, and I look forward to the holidays and celebrations that we have.

Even when I am not with my family, I appreciate all of my freedoms. I appreciate being able to shop, go out to eat, or even just to run for a cup of coffee.

The Summer of Xavier

I have always maintained that the summer before my sons turned two was the best summer for them. Malachi turned two in September of 2002, and the summer of 2002 was the absolute best with him. Isaiah turned two in July of 2006, and that summer was fun with him too. This is Xavier's summer before he turns two this October. I know that it is going to be a memorable summer with him too.

I don't know what it is about this season, or this age. Maybe it's the freedom that summer affords. We are not really on schedules and with the warm weather, we don't really have to even prepare to go outdoors either. Barefoot or not, we just go. Being outside allows for new discoveries too. Seeing these discoveries through the eyes of a 20 month old only enhances the specialness of the discovery.

So today I had Xavier outside and I spent time just watching him. You see, because I've been there-done that with his older brothers, I know that this summer is the one magical summer where he will discover the most and things that are brand new to him will amaze and amuse him. Because I know this, I savored his excitement and his expressions while I watched him.

I will never forget the way his fine hair blew in the breeze as I pushed him in his swing. I will never forget the image of him chasing a bird, then flinching and squeezing his eyes shut as the bird turned and flew towards him. I will never forget him running as fast as his chubby baby legs could take him, only to fall down. Then when he got up, he slapped his hands together to get the newly mowed grass off of his hands. I'm sure his Nan will never forget him running from her and getting across the street either. Did I mention he was a runner? A not so good thing about this summer - he is no longer boxed in!

The best realization that I had today was that while I was with Xavier and watching his experiences, it brought back memories that I had of Malachi and Isaiah at this same age. Memories that I have tucked away suddenly came to the surface. I love that. This is definitely the summer of Xavier. He will learn a lot this summer, and we will be kept on our toes because of it.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

I have a lot of goals in life. Some goals are small and easily attainable. Other goals are way out there and would be life changing if ever I did attain them. Most of my goals are things that I could accomplish but I never do because I never seem to have time or energy to work on them. This blog has been a goal of mine. Do I have time for it? Probably not, but I'm glad to be starting it. In the end, I think that it will be an important thing that will document the life of my family.



I've always wanted to start a blog. Like I need one more thing to waste time on the computer with - my husband will be thrilled, I know. I've just always liked the idea of blogging. Like I said, this is my way of documenting the life of my family. Who knows if it will be of interest to anyone, but at least it will be something for me. So today, on this lazy Tuesday, while my boys were still being lazy in bed, I dove in and created this blog. We'll see where it goes from here.