Freezing time

I sit here with my 1 year old in my lap... and I find myself clinging to this moment. He seems to fit so perfectly in my arms, he smells so good, his skin is so soft... My littlest son is clutching his soft blankey that he sleeps with every night. I close my eyes and listen as he tries so hard to communicate with his baby babble. His cute little chubby finger points to an airplane flying over us in the sky. I wish I could keep him this age forever. With him waddling around and coming to me whenever he wants to cuddle. He has already grown up so fast... and I just want time to stop, just a little bit.

I hear my 3 year old in the other room with his cute raspy voice talking to his older brother. I can tell he is smiling and laughing with his cute cheeks and wild hair. I want him to stay 3 forever too.. with his vivid imagination and his out of control facial expressions. He too always come to me for hugs and love, and where out of no where tell me how much he loves me. He has always been able to just melt into my arms.. I hope he will always know how welcome he will always be there.

I see my 5 year old run around the corner with his darkening freckles and his strong little body. He gets faster and wiser every day. Sometimes I feel as if he knows more about the world than I do. He is so kind and willing to grow in anyway that he can. He is my little buddy, my friend, my helper. 

I know I cannot stop time... but in this moment I feel so full of joy. I feel so complete in a way that I could never fully describe. I am so blessed to have these little people in my life, and as much as I would like to freeze things for a little while.. I know things will always be changing. It's the memories we can remember - and the new experiences we can always look forward too. Always take time to snap shot these moments ~ at least that way, we can always keep them.

Gatherings

Lots of things happened these last few weeks! Lots of birthdays, gatherings, garden planting, a promotion, and a day at Lagoon. I can really see Summer has begun, and we've been having a great time.

Preschool Graduation!

Jack's preschool did a little graduation for all of the kids. It was pretty cute. It was funny though because Trent thought it was silly to have a graduation for preschool.... so he kept making little jokes about it. For instance, the picture I got with him actually receiving his diploma was very very blurry, because I didn't know he was going first... and Trent claimed, "Oh darn! I guess we will have to try EXTRA hard to get a good picture when he graduates from HIGH SCHOOL or COLLEGE. haha

But it was super cute and fun. Jack did a great job. He played Hot Cross Buns on the piano and recited a poem. They also got popsicles afterwards, so it was all in good fun!

Swimming Lessons!

 The boys did swim lessons the last couple of weeks, and it was so much fun! This was their first swim class, so they were able to take it together. They loved going every morning :) And so did I.. oddly enough. haha

The teacher they had was amazing. She got them to do things (like floating on their backs and putting their head under the water) that I could never get them to do!

Jack passed with flying colors and will be taking the next class up. Blake is going to take the first class again, which doesn't surprise me considering he is only 3 and won't put his head under from more than a second! haha. Cute little guy. AND with the next set of classes, Ty and I will also being getting in the water for a 'Mommy & Me' class! YAY. I am super excited.

Jack was a little splash happy.. so the last day I asked him if he could please not splash all the other kids and explained to him why. He sweetly replied, " Okay, Mom. I will try my best to not splash the other kids. I don't want to promise you that I won't, because if I forget and splash someone, I don't want you to think I was lying."

What a heartwarming thing to hear.. and kinda surprising to hear from a 5 year old! He really has a good heart. But yes.. he did still splash a few times, but you could tell he was really trying not to. Afterwards he told me he was trying his very best to remember. 

The last day they also got to stay and play for about a half hour. It seems already they have had so much more confidence in the water - which is awesome to see!