Our Kind of Wonderful

If I could freeze time,

I would keep it just like this.

These are my two sweet little girls,

under the "house" they built today-

which has seemed to become a permanent fixture

atop our reclining sofas over the last few weeks.

There's this bottom drawer in Kaylee's room

where I keep the girls' baby blankets...
all 13 of which end up being used as
the roof and windows and door...

and extra padding for their little knees.

They like to hide in their house.

And giggle.

Every night, I neatly fold the blankets up again

and put them back in their place,

ready for the next morning's ritual.

I guess I should be a little bothered by this tedious task.

But I can't help to smile at the fact that despite

their ridiculous overabundance of toys....

they are perfectly content just playing under blankets.

Oh, and I'm happy to report that Kaylee is learning to fold them herself.

She is very proud of this, and loves to get them "just right"

before putting them back in the drawer.

(I can't imagine where she gets that from!)

Before Kaylee was born,

I was a little worried that staying home with my kids

would make me less sensitive to all these little moments,

but I am in awe by them, and my life... every single day.

And it breaks my heart to think,

that as much as I try to savour every moment,

little memories like this will get lost along the way.

Case in point.

The other day Kaylee saw a KFC commercial on tv

and got this big smile on her face.

She ran over to my lap and said

"Hey Mommy... we had that!"

I gave her a funny look, not realizing what she was talking about.

What was the significance of KFC??

She wrinkled her nose a bit,

like she couldn't believe I wasn't on the same page.

" 'Member? We had a picnic on the grass and ate chicken by the waterfall!

Wasn't that so fun Mommy?"

I squeezed her in a big hug

and kissed her on the forehead,

"I do remember that... and it WAS fun sweetheart!"

Oh,what a sweet little memory she has.

And to be honest, though it was fun...

I hadn't really thought much about it since.

It was a hot day last June,

when we were outside helping Josh with the waterfall.

After picking up rocks, we headed over to KFC for the dinner deal,

then brought out a blanket and ate it in our front yard,

admiring our handy work.

(I do remember thinking that we chose

a messy meal for a picnic.

And that people were probably wondering

why were camped out in front of our house!)

It was a simple thing... just our little family

spending some time together,

eating chicken and mashed potatoes and baked beans

on a blanket.

But for some reason, my 3 year old little girl remembered it.

And it made her smile.

Someday, when my kids are all grown up...

I pretty sure it's these simple "ordinary" moments

that I'll miss the most.

A couple weeks ago,

Josh and I were sitting on the couch watching the Nightly News

and taking in all the bad news of the world -

the DOW closing down 500 points, banks/businesses closing down,

all-time record job loss, foreclosures everywhere.

It has been a stressful time in our household too.

Obviously we are so thankful that the economy

has not hit us nearly as bad as many,

but when you have two little lives depending on you,

it can feel like the world on your shoulders.

I know Josh feels it more than anyone.

Oh, how thankful I am for him!

About halfway through the broadcast,

Josh looked at me and said

"Do you think kids will ever understand the struggles

that parents go through to raise them?"

We looked down at the two beautiful little girls playing at our feet -

pulling a blanket over them to "hide"

then throwing it in the air only to giggle uncontrollably and do it again

(as you can see, blankets have been a theme in our house lately!)

Their sweet little expressions holding his answer -

in their world, life is perfect.

They have a Mommy and Daddy who love them

(and continuously dote over their cuteness),

a warm home (how often do we forget the pricelessness of that?),

rooms that I'm pretty sure I dreamed up a time or two

in my own childhood days...

what more could two toddlers ask for?

Josh and I looked at eachother without saying a word

and it was clear that we were thinking the exact same thing.

No. Our kids don't know.

They don't understand the trials or stress

that comes along with being a parent.

They don't realize that yearning in our hearts

to give them all that we can and the worry that we may not be able to. And for a few more years at least, they'll have no idea just how many bad things there are in this world. I know it won't be that way forever, but I just want to enjoy this time - a time when my biggest concerns are keeping them safe. And happy.
Sorry, I realize this is a long post. I guess I just wanted to take a little moment and say how much I love my life. We may not be millionaries, or live in a big fancy house.

But you know what?

I may just be the luckiest girl in the world.