Remember how I said that everything about the holidays was GREAT?

Well, there have been a few bad effects...

#1 - Everyone in my family is now hopelessly addicted to playing Super Mario Brothers:)





















#2 My four and five year old now have a dangerous (but oh so fun) hobby!













#3 - I have hardly seen my LOVE because he's busy reading the presents I got him.











On second though...I guess if that's all I have to complain about I am doing pretty great after all!

Thumbelina

I love this little baby so much. As soon as she was born I started to feel sad that she was getting older. I wanted so badly to keep her a newborn forever. When she was three weeks old I was crying over how fast she was growing... literally crying! Maybe it's because after having my fourth child I am starting to come to terms with the fact that I can't keep having babies forever. I'm not done yet, but the day will come when I need to be. The day will come when I will know with finality that I will never hold my own brand new baby again. At times that thought has overwhelmed me. It has brought me many tears and much sorrow. In those first few weeks I felt like no matter how much time I spent holding her and taking her in I couldn't get enough. It just wasn't enough.

I promised myself then that I wouldn't take her baby-ness for granted. This might sound strange but I was so upset by the thought of her not being a newborn anymore that I began to pray about it. I prayed that I would feel joy instead of sadness at her milestones. I prayed that I could really truly enjoy every perfect inch of her and every little event in her new life. I prayed that I wouldn't feel anxiety and sadness over her growing up (her and all my kids). I prayed that I would remember to pay attention as she grew so that I wouldn't miss anything. I realized today that it worked. She is 6 months old this week and I am finding joy instead of sadness in that. I expected to feel down about it. But I don't, and I am so thankful that my prayers were answered.

Holiday Hangover

Has anyone out there ever felt like this poor little guy after the holidays?


I'll admit that there have been a lot of years where I did.

I am proud to announce that this year isn't one of them! This year Christmas was great. It was one of my favorite Christmases in a LONG time too. That cheer and joy and sense of peace that permeated my holidays is still with me now. Clean up is complete. School has started once again. The daily grind is back in full swing and I feel Awesome with a - yes - you guessed it - capitol 'A'!

To top it all off with a pleasant surprise, I realized that the "day after Christmas let down" is drastically less traumatic when your a grown up. In fact, I hardly felt it at all! This year my holiday hangover was a happy one!

Happy 2010!

The new year is always a little bit bittersweet.

The sweet part is reflecting on the milestones and growth of my little family over the past year. The holidays were great and now it's time to settle back into life with a fresh outlook and renewed motivation.

The bitter part is knowing that another year in our lives is gone and that same little family is growing up way too fast for me. My babies get bigger everyday and the dawning of a new year is just another reminder of that.

It reminds me to stop and take in the sweet things in life more often. This next year will be more about enjoying each other and less about the daily grind. At least that's my main goal!

Now to go achieve it. The kids are having fun without me. I better go partake:)