Beautiful Life

She doesn't have a sister. She is my youngest child, only 2 1/2 years old. And yet she knows how to take care of a baby... She feeds them, reads to them, cuddles them, puts them to sleep and even changes their diapers. She is darling, cute and so 100% girl! She is also one tough cookie. She loves wrestling with her brothers and has no problem stating her opinion despite her limited vocabulary! She is a wonder to watch and challenges me to look at myself all the more, because I am after all the one who has the pleasure of teaching her what it means to be a woman.

Mr. D is the most creative boy I have ever met. He is always building or crafting something. I think he would be the happiest guy in the world if I had somewhere that was his very own space where he had access to all kinds of tapes, scissors, paper, staplers and writing tools. I would love to crawl inside his brain to where he comes up with all these endless ideas. He can be very focused, when he's working on something you might as well be on the other side of the world!
Then there is my four year old treasure. He has the sweetest little heart you will ever see. He is fierce, he feels things deeply, and is very observant. I long ago dubbed him my warrior, nothing will get in this boys way. He has the greatest snuggles and the cutest pair of dimples I have ever seen. He explores life with an excitement that is contagious and a sparkle that brings joy to my soul. You never know what you're going to get with this little follower and leader wrapped all up in one package, he moves to the beat of his own drum!

These are my treasures. These are my children. Peace has been reigning in our home this afternoon and all I want to do is watch my children play. They are content in their chosen activities and as I look at them I feel my heart overflow. When my daughter was born, my oldest was two weeks away from his third birthday. There are so many joys in having children close in age. I remember the first time I reveled in the joy of their closeness of age. My little Miss must have been about a year old and all three of them were playing ring-around-the-rosey and genuinely enjoying themselves. They travel through life together, opening and closing each stage together, experiencing life to it's fullest with a built in best friend.

These little people are amazing. Watching them explore and grow up is a gift. They fill my heart with joy and anticipation. Each year just gets better, I am not sad to see another year or stage pass because where we are is always the best. I love the stage they're in, then I love the next stage even more!!! Life with children is like walking through a masterpiece, and just when you think it couldn't get any better, it does. Sure in the midst of that you have many trials, there are times when I'm just plain burnt out, but sure enough it passes. Just as an author experience writers block, so we have blocks in our life where maybe life doesn't look so amazing, but in those moments all you can do is look back and see the beauty that you've experienced and know that that beauty is present even still. After all, sunrise comes after a dark night and there is no denying the beauty of the sun coming over the mountains, drenching the valleys in rays of beauty. That is what life is, beautiful... While I wrote this all I could think about was a song that I loved when I was a kid...